Outlaw Confidential
by Bat13SJx
Summary: The collected information on the three outlaws: Chorizo, Stump and Kinski; the three men in Bad Bill's gang. Their background stories on who they were before they became the wanted outlaws today. Many risks were taken in order to sucessfully gather the classified dark pasts that the three have tried to keep a secret from the world. (My theories)
1. Chorizo

**Outlaw Confidentials...**

**Chorizo**

Name: Chorizo Carnicero

A.K.A.: _El Bandito, El Carnicero, Ojo Rojo Diablo_.

Sex: Male

Age: 30

Birthdate: 1-26-1981

Height: 6.5 in.

Eye color: yellow/red

Hair color: Black, dark brown

Type: Shrew

Parents: Rosa and Beto Carnicero

Siblings: Edwardo, Nico, and Isabella Carnicero

Town: El Roco Rojo

Country: Mexico

Crimes: Assault with a butterknife, making out with the mayor's niece, stolen property, and murder

Last Seen: Town of Dirt (Mojave Desert, Navada)

Gang: Bad Bill

* * *

_Mexico 1981..._

_The sun began to set and everyone in the town of El Roco Rojo started to head inside their little homes. Beto Carnicero placed the knife down on the counter next to the meat he had just cut and stretched his huge hairy arms. Then he wiped his bloody hands onto the front of his blood spattered apron. He looked around in his small spaced shop, which was filled with hanging boar legs and tails. _

_Beto Carnicero worked in a butcher shop, and the meat he got was from all the animals who didnt wear clothes and became very old and tired from pulling the carts along to and from town. The kids of course would start up rumors about him and his family being murderers and killing people in the town. Mr. Carnicero got a few customers in his shop, but it was enough to help his growing family-_

_"Beto! Beto! Where is the baby!" screamed Beto's wife, Rosa as she came running down the stairs to him. She wore a white dress and had her dark hair up into a ponytail. Beto turned to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. "What are you talking about, Rosa?" he asked her. Rosa placed her small hands in front of her face and cried. "The baby! wh-where is our newborn son?!" she cried. Beto's eyes widened. "Werent you watching him?" he asked. Rosa cried. "I was, but I left for just a minute...wh-when I came back to check on him...h-he wasnt in his crib!" she cried. Beto clasped her small hands into his huge hands. _

_"It's ok, Rosa, we will find him. He is only a baby after all. He couldnt have gone far," Bet assured his wife. Rosa looked up at her husband with her wet, mustard colored eyes, then silently nodded._

_With that, Beto turned his head to the back room and called for his first son. "Edwardo! Come and help us find your younger brother!" he called. A thirteen year old shrew appeared at the doorway. His dark hair was matted and covered in dry blood. He wore a bloody apron like his father's, and held a knife covered in blood in his right hand. He glared at his parents. "So, I can stop cutting this meat now?" he asked. Beto didnt like the tone of voice his son just gave him and glared back at him. _

_Just as Beto was about to say something to Edwardo, they all heard a noise. Beto turned his head to the back room where the meat was stored. He grabbed his rifle from the nearby rack and began to cautiously walk into the storage room. Rosa followed right behind her husband. Edwardo sighed and stared down at the knife in his hands. He hated being the son of a butcher. Everyday, he had to work in the back, where the stench began to cling to your fur and clothes. A couple times he had to leave to vomit because the smell was so horrible. The ground was sticky with blood and was just as __nauseating. _

_Edwardo looked up from where he stood. He didnt hear any gunshots. Edwardo held his breath and walked into the meat room where his parents disappeared into. He found them looking into the storage closet. When he got to the closet, he couldnt believe what he saw. Sitting in the middle of the small spaced room, surrounded my open boxes of meat, sat his baby brother. _

_Beto smiled and Rosa placed her hands over her chest and began to cry in relief. The baby stopped looking up at his parents and continued eating the strings of sausages that curled around his feet. Beto placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "There, see? He's fine," Beto said. Rosa nodded her head. Then she bent down and picked the baby up and held him in her arms. _

_"Oh...you gave me quite a fright," she said. Beto smiled and lightly patted the top of the baby shrew's head. "He must have go hungry and came down here to eat these chorizos," Beto said. Rosa blinked and looked down at the boxes which were labled: chorizos. She beamed and turned to her husband. "That's what we shall name him! Chorizo," she said. Beto stared at his wife. "I thought you finally chose his name to be Pedro," Beto said. Rosa smiled and shook her head. "I change my mind, I think Chorizo suits him best," she said and she lifted the baby in her arms so she could look at him. The baby shrew had a chorizo in his mouth. Juice drippled down the corners of his lips. _

_Edwardo's mouth dropped open in shock. He couldnt believe what he just heard. With that, he threw the knife down hard against the ground. It clattered loudly against the bloodstained tile ground. "I cant believe you! You would actually name your own son after something you work with all day? Its all about meat in here isnt it? Meat! Meat! Meat! I'm sick of meat! and I'm sick of you! I hate you!" screamed Edwardo. With that, he turned around and bolted out of the room and out of the shop. _

_"Ed! Edwardo! Come back!" screamed Beto as he chased after his son. Rosa stayed behind with her baby. Chorizo began to cry from the loud noises. Rosa held him in her arms and began to gently rock him to sleep. Chorizo's mustard colored eyes gradually began to close, and he fell fast asleep with half of the sausage in his little arms. _

_Beto bolted out the door and stopped a couple feet out from his shop. "Edwardo!" he called as he looked around in the street. Edwardo was nowhere to be seen. A couple passerbys noticed Beto outside calling for his son, but then continued on down the street. Beto looked around, but he still couldnt find his son. Then, Beto's eyes flickered down when he noticed something on the ground. It was an apron. Edwardo's apron. Beto stooped down and picked it up. _

_Beto stared down at the bloodstained apron and sighed in frustration. He narrowed his red eyes. Edwardo was the stubborn one. It wasnt the first time that he had run away from home. He'll come back, and when he does, he'll get a far worse punishment then last time. With that, Beto turned around and walked back inside the butcher shop. _

_Beto looked up and saw his wife just walking up the stairs with his five month old son in her arms. Beto followed after his wife. The old, wooden stairs creaked softly as the adult shrews walked up to the second floor and into the small room where they kept Chorizo. Rosa gently placed the baby shrew into the crib. The two parents stared down at the little shrew, smiling. "I think you picked the perfect name for him," said Beto as he placed an arm around Rosa's waist. _

_The little one yawned and culed up into a little ball. Rosa smiled and lightly kissed the top of the baby's head. __"Goodnight, my little one," she said. When she lifted her head up out of the crib, Beto reached down and lightly smoothed the baby's whispy hair on the top of his head. "Goodnight, Chorizo," he said. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Ten years later..._

"Chorizo! hurry up with that slab of meat!" Beto called as he waited impatiently. Ten year old Chorizo came rushing into the room with the red slab of heavy, frozen meat. "Git out of the way, Nico!" yelled Chorizo as he tried running around his eight year old brother who stood in the middle of the room playing with his toys. Nico apologized and moved out of the way, but Chorizo didnt hear him and continued making his way to his father.

"Here you are, papa," said Chorizo as he lifted the piece of meat. Beto grabbed the end of the meat and slapped it down onto the counter in front of him and began to chop away. Chorizo groaned and rubbed his thin, sore arms.

Nico came up next to his older brother. "I'm sorry, Chorizo. I didnt mean-" "Just stay outta the way next time!" shouted Chorizo. "Chorizo! Dont yell at your brother!" shouted Rosa as she came in with a two year old Isabella in her arms. Isabella was sleeping, but began to cry when Chorizo shouted. Beto turned to his wife and told her to put Isabella back in her crib. Rosa nodded and left the room. Beto turned back to Chorizo.

"I need another slab of meat, Chorizo, hurry up," he said. Chorizo rubbed his sore arms again and moved away from his older brother and back to the horrible smelling meat room in the back. He wiped his bloody hands on the front of his bloodstained apron and grabbed another slab of meat. He picked it up and carried it to his father. Nico stood away from where Chorizo was walking, but watched him. Chorizo narrowed his eyes and pretended that Nico didnt exist as heslapped the piece of meat onto the counter.

"Can I go outside now, papa?" asked Chorizo. Beto didnt look down at his son as he began to cut the meat. "Si, you've been working hard, go take a break," said his father. Chorizo grinned. He took off his apron and hung it on the hook before running outside. Nico turned to his dad. "May I go outside too, papa?" he asked. Beto looked down at the ground. Boar blood was seen spilled all over the ground. He turned back to cutting the meat.

"Clean up the blood, and I'll let you go," he said. Nico's shoulders slumped, then he shuffled over to the closet where the mop and bucket were kept and began to mop up the ground.

Outside, Chorizo walked along the red dirt road in the small white houses made of earth materials. A couple rodents ran around him as they played tag. A group of mice in white clothes were seen chasing a small worm. Chorizo smiled, but stopped when he felt something cold run along his feet. He looked down and noticed that he had made it to the small stream just along his home. He bent down and began to clean off the dry boar blood from his hands. As he was, he heard a strange soothing sound. He looked up.

Sitting near a tree was a young woodrat. He looked like he was in his twenties. His hair was a mixture of light browns and dark browns. His dark brown hair stuck out from underneath his sombrero. He wore dirty blue jeans and rolled up longsleeve white shirt. In his hands, he held a guitar. Chorizo was amazed by how beautiful the music was as it came out from the instrument. The woodrat stopped playing when he noticed the little shrew boy staring at him.

"Oh, buenos noches, I didnt see you there," said the woodrat. Chorizo cautiously came up to the rat and stared at the guitar. "What is that?" he asked, pointing his small finger to the instrument. The woodrat smiled and pointed to the guitar. "This is a guitar. Havent you ever seen one before?" he asked the boy.

Chorizo shook his head. He has never really been able to go outside much before. His father was always making him do chores aroundthe house and helping him in the butcher shop. The woodrat handed the guitar to him.

"Here, you can hold her," he said. Chorizo accepted the instrument in his hands. "It's a she?" he asked the woodrat. The woodrat smiled and nodded his head. "Si, that's my muchacha. Her name is Maria," he said. Chorizo stared down at Maria in awe. He carefully lifted one hand and lightly ran it over the smooth wooden surface.

"She's beautiful," he whispered. The woodrat smiled and nodded. "Si, she is," he said. Then he looked up at Chorizo. "We havent been properly introduced, my name's Alonzo," said the woodrat. Chorizo looked up from the guitar to Alonzo. "My name is Chorizo," he said. Alonzo couldnt help but smile. "Like the sausage," he pointed out. Chorizo shrugged. "I like chorizos, and that's what my parents named me," he said. Alonzo nodded. "I was named after my grandfather," he said. Chorizo looked up at Alonzo.

"I never knew my grandfather," he said. Alonzo stopped smiling. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said. Chorizo didnt seem to understand why he was sorry, but decided not to ask. "I never knew my older brother either...my parents never want to talk about him," said Chorizo. Alonzo stared at the young boy. Chorizo sighed and gave the guitar back. "Thank you for showing me Maria," he said, then began to leave.

Alonzo stared down at his guitar, then looked up at the boy. "I could teach you to play Maria if you want me to," said Alonzo. Chorizo stopped in his tracks and turned his head back to the woodrat. Alonzo stared at the boy. "I could teach you to play," he repeated. Chorizo blinked. "You could?" he asked. Alonzo smiled. "Well, if you want me to," he said. Chorizo's mouth broke into a grin and he came back to the wood rat.


	3. Chapter 3

...

"Papa, may I go outside today?" asked Chorizo as he looked up from the floor he just mopped up. Beto stopped cutting the meat and turned to his son. He looked down at the ground then slowly nodded. "Sure," he said, then went back to working. "But dont start making this a habit. I need you to start getting used to working long hours," Beto said. Chorizo didnt hear him as he rushed to put the mop and blood bucket up. He took off his nasty apron and tossed it aside and began to bolt toward the door.

"Chorizo, its wet outside, dont forget your poncho," said Rosa as she looked out the window. It was lightly raining, leaving little random puddles everywhere. Chorizo stopped right at the door and sighed. "Yes mama," he said and marched over to the closet where his poncho hung.

It was a present his parents gave him when he just turned ten. It was his grandfathers poncho, handed down from his dad, and now to him. It was a very big poncho, tan colored with red and brown designs on it. The ends were frayed and dragged on the floor when Chorizo wore it. He placed it on and began to rush back to the door. Rosa smiled.

"My, someone's in a hurry. Dont forget to come back in time for dinner, ok?" she asked. "Ok mama," he said and opened the door and ran out. Chorizo felt the cold air hit his little chest as he stayed away from the puddles in his black boots. He shivered and pulled the poncho tighter around him.

The wind and rain picked up a bit, and the smells were thick and wet from the strange rain that happened. Chorizo's ears twitched as he made his way to the place he met Alonzo yesterday. Alonzo sat wearing a huge sombrero and wore a poncho as well as he sat under the tree with Maris in his hands. He lifted his head up and smiled when he saw Chorizo coming.

"Hey, Chorizo. Buenos dias," he said. Chorizo smiled. "Buenos dias, Alonzo," he said. Then he sat down next to Alonzo and Alonzo began to show him the parts of the guitar.

...

The weeks passed on by. Everyday after Chorizo was done working in his father's shop, he would go and meet Alonzo at the tree they agreed to meet at and play the guitar. Alonzo enjoyed teaching Chorizo. The young boy was a very fast learner, and enjoyed playing Maria. Within the one month, Chorizo had already learned to play three songs.

"You are a natural," beamed Alonzo when Chorizo got to the last part of the song he was playing. Chorizo smiled back and stopped playing the guitar. "Gracias for teaching me, Alonzo," he said. Alonzo nodded. "Anytime," he said. Chorizo's eyes flickered to the right of Alonzo. The sun was setting and the sky was beginning to turn orange.

Chorizo's eyes widened. "It's getting late, I need to start heading home," he said as he handed Alonzo back his guitar and got up from the rock he was sitting on. Alonzo waved goodbye to Chorizo. "Goodbye, Chorizo. See you tomorrow," he said. Chorizo waved goodbye and started heading off home.

...

The sun began to set, and the town's white houses began to grow long shadows.

Mrs. Carnicero placed a hot white plate of meat down on the table in front of Beto. Beto grinned and started to eat. Rosa handed another plate of food to her two younger kids before looking out the window with a worried expression on her face. Nico stopped eating and looked out too.

"When is Chorizo coming back?" Nico asked. Rosa just shook her head. "I dont know, Nico," she said. Beto stopped eating as well and narrowed his eyes at the window. "He should know better by now. He knows when dinner is, and to not be out when the sun has already set," he said before taking another bite.

"If he's not in this house in five minutes, I'm going to hunt him down and drag him by his tail into this house and make him cook his own food," finished Mr. Carnicero sternly. Nico looked at his father with fear in his eyes then turned back to the window. "Please hurry back, Chorizo," Nico whispered.

A couple minutes later, Chorizo came through the door of his house and came into the small kitchen where his family sat. "Where have you been, Chorizo? I've been worried sick!" said Mrs. Carnicero as she came over to her son and hugged him. Chorizo moved away from his mom and sat down at the open seat. "I was talking with senor Alonzo," he said and began to eat his half cold meat in front of him. Rosa sat down close to him and began to eat her meat as well. Beto gave his older son a look.

"What have you been doing?" he asked. Chorizo stopped eating and looked up at his dad. "He was teaching me to play the guitar," he said. Beto stared at his son with a look on his face. "Teaching you to play the guitar?" he asked. Chorizo nodded. Beto sighed loudly, causing everyone to stop eating and watch the two male shrews talk

"Why do you want to do something like that? Learning to play the guitar is not going to help you with preparing meat," he said. Chorizo felt something churn in his stomach.

"Que?" he asked. Beto stared at his on from across the small, crowded table. "We've talked about this, Chorizo. When you are old enough to take care of yerself, we are giving you the Carnicero business," he said. Chorizo opened his mouth slightly in shock. "Wh-what? Why not Nico?" he asked as he turned his head to Nico, who was beginning to slide down in his seat. He could already tell what was going to happen. Beto's red eyes narrowed and he glared at Chorizo.

"You are the oldest one out of your siblings, so the family business is passed down to you!" snarled Beto, raising his voice. Chorizo narrowed his eyes. "I'm not the oldest! Edwardo was! Why dont you guys ever talk about him?!" shouted Chorizo. Beto got up out of his seat, causing his chair to flip over. "Dont you DARE say that name in this house!" Chorizo got out of his seat.

"Why not?! He was part of this family! I dont understand why you dont talk about him!" shouted Chorizo. Beto's hands curled into fists. Then he started to come toward Chorizo. Chorizo moved out of his chair and began to walk backwards. Rosa tried calming down Beto, but Beto didnt listen.

Chorizo turned to bolt, but Beto grabbed Chorizo by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into his thick arms. Chorizo struggled in his father's grasp, but his father was twice the size and ten times stronger then him. Chorizo made a sound when his father squeezed his arm tightly.

"You listen here, boy. You are NEVER going to mention your hermano's name EVER again! and you are NOT going to take any more guitar lessons with Alonzo! You are going to work in the shop and take on the family business whether you like it or not!" shouted Beto. With that, he chucked Chorizo toward the stairs. "Go to your room and stay there till you are ready to come down!" shouted Beto.

Chorizo could feel his arm throbbing with pain. Tears ran down his face as he got up and began walking up the steps. _I hate you! _thought Chorizo , but was too scared to say it out loud. As he walked up the stairs, he could still feel his dad's glaring red eyes on him. Isabella was crying in the other room, and his brother, Nico was shaking under the table. Rosa instantly got up and came up to Beto to talk to him and make him come back to the dinner table.

Chorizo stormed the rest of the way up the stairs and slammed the door loudly behind him. He jumped on his bed and laid there face down, fighting with the tears. He hated his dad. He didnt want to take on the family business! It was a horrible job and barely any customers came into the shop anyway. He hated being a butcher's son...

I wonder if thats why Edwardo left, thought Chorizo as he laid there. His stomach growled. He barely had any food when he came home. He ignored the hunger pains and wiped the tears from the back of his hand roughly. His pink tail swayed, lightly touching the ground.

I wonder where he is now... thought Chorizo as he rolled over on his back and began to stare up at the cracked ceiling. Edwardo might be living on his own somewhere, living in his own house, and maybe has a job that he likes...I wonder if I could do that...or maybe I could leave this place...Chorizo snapped out of his daydreaming when his door opened. Inside stepped his mom and Nico. Chorizo sat upright and stared at them.

"Hey, Chorizo..." said Nico quietly. Rosa's mom smiled and came in with a tray of food. "I brought you some food," she said as she set the tray down. Chorizo grabbed the fork and began shoveling the cooked food into his mouth. His mom had cooked chorizos for him. He licked his lips hungrily and continued eating. Rosa and Nico sat down on the bed next to him.

"Dont get upset at Papa. He just wants what's best for you," said Chorizo and Nico's mom. Chorizo stopped eating and looked up at his mom. His mom smiled a small smile and brushed a strand of black hair from her mustard yellow eyes. "We both want whats best for all our children. We want you to live a long, and happy life, and not starve away," she explained. Chorizo didnt say anything as he listened to his mom. Rosa reached up to Chorizo and ran her thin fingers gently through his hair.

"You are a big boy, Chorizo, and you need to start getting ready to work more in the shop," she said. Chorizo narrowed his eyes a bit and looked away. "But I dont want to work in the shop. I dont want to be a butcher. I want to play the guitar," he said. Nico stared at Chorizo, then looked over at his mom.

"Why does Chorizo have to work in the shop?" he asked. Rosa sighed. "We are Carniceros. Butchers. Its what we do, and no one else knows how. We must continue on the process of being able to prepare meat for others in exchange to get money and live. We have no choice," she said. Chorizo glared down at his pillow. His eyes flashed red as they always did.

"What about Edwardo?" asked Chorizo as he turned his head back to his mom. Rosa stared at her son and sighed. "Edwardo...Edwardo didnt like working in the shop either. He would fight with papa. Papa would beat him, then send to his room without supper. One day, he got fed up with it and just left town..." Rosa explained as she shook her head and looked down. Tears could be seen in her eyes.

"The outside world is dangerous, little ones. Predators are out to eat you alive. Outlaws and slave traders want to kill you...I dont want to scare you...but that's what is out there...Edwardo might not have made it when he left..." Rosa sighed as she got up. "Come Nico, lets leave Chorizo to eat," she said. Nico looked at his older brother before jumping down from the bed and walking after his mom.

Chorizo watched as the two left his room. Leaving him alone with the tray of chorizos.


	4. Chapter 4

...

The next day, Beto made Chorizo work the whole day till sundown. When it got to dinnertime, Chorizo was so sore, he wasnt able to lift his arms to pick up his fork and knife. No one spoke while at the dinner table. Beto didnt look up at his family as he ate his food. Nico looked over to his older brother, then to his mom. His mom was trying to feed Isabella. Nico looked down at his plate of food, but didnt touch it.

When everyone was finally excused from dinner, Chorizo walked up the stairs to his bed and flopped down on it. He sighed angrily and tried falling asleep, but he couldnt. "Chorizo?" asked his small brother Nico. Chorizo sighed and turned his head to where his brother's bed was. They both shared a room. Nico sat upright in his bed in the darkness.

"What is it, Nico?" asked Chorizo. Nico shifted in his bed. "Are you gonna run away like what Edwardo did?" he asked, but in his voice he sounded worried and scared. Chorizo stared at his younger brother's dark sillouette before laying back down and turning away from it.

"I dont know..." he said, closing his eyes. Silence filled the air. Finally, Nico spoke. "I dont want you to run away," he finally answered. Chorizo opened his eyes. He turned his head back over to look at his younger brother. Nico stared at him in the darkness. Chorizo sighed as he stared where Nico was.

"I dont want you to run away," repeated Nico. Chorizo felt his heart begin to hurt. He finally nodded. "I wont run away, Nico," Chorizo said. Nico seemed to relax. "I dont want you to leave because papa wants you to take over his job..." said Nico. Chorizo didnt say anything.

"...And I dont want you to go against all those outlaws and wild animals that want to eat you," he added. Chorizo stared at Nico in the darkness. Nico really cared for him. He didnt want to lose the only brother he knew. Chorizo felt guilt in his stomach, but ignored it and layed back down into bed. "Yeah...goodnight Nico," he said. "Goodnight Chorizo," said Nico and fell asleep as well.

Chorizo was about to fall asleep when he heard a strange sound outside his window. He at first thought it was the wind and just went back to sleep. Then the sound came again. Chorizo ripped the covers away from him, jumped out of bed and ran to the window. He looked out and noticed someone standing outside below his window.

Chorizo opened the window and looked own. Standing there, illuminated by the moon, was Alonzo with Maria. He waved. Chorizo stared at him with a puzzled look. Alonzo finally spoke. "Where were you today?" he asked Chorizo in a loud whisper. The young shrew's little ears went down against his head.

"My dad says that I cant learn to play the guitar anymore..." He answered back in a loud whisper. Chorizo watched as Alonzo's mouse ears went down in disappointment. "Oh..." he said. Chorizo narrowed his eyes a bit in frustration. He hated having to say that. He really badly wanted to play the guitar, but his papa was keeping him from doing what he wanted to do. He didnt want to be a butcher for a town that barely bought meat in the first place. It angered him imensely.

"Hold on, Alonzo, I'll be right down," said Chorizo before the wood rat could move. Chorizo turned, just as Nico was getting up out of bed. "Chorizo? Who are you talking to?" he asked. Chorizo shushed his younger brother. "Be quiet, Nico. I'm going out," he said as he quickly looked under his bed for his boots. Nico stood there as Chorizo began to get dressed.

"Where are you going?" Nico asked nervously in a whisper. Chorizo grabbed his boots from under his bed and began slipping them on. "Im going to go outside and see if I can still practice playing the guitar with him," he answered. Then he turned to Nico. "So dont tell papa or mama," he said. Nico stared at Chorizo. "You are coming back...right?" he asked softly. Chorizo got up and nodded his head.

"Yes, I'll be back before the sun comes up," he said. With that, he quietly left the room and tiptoed down the stairs. He opened the door and an instant rush of cold smacked him in the chest. He shivered and stared out. It was pitch black outside, and the cool winds had come. He turned to the hook that held his hand-me down poncho and quickly placed it over his head and wrapped himself in it. Then he quietly closed the door and left.

He saw Alonzo still waiting outside the house near his bedroom window. He waved and they both began walking. "I was thinking that we could start playing at a different time," answered Chorizo. Alonzo grinned. "I was hoping you would still want to learn," he said.

Chorizo nodded. "I really badly want to learn to play Maria," said Chorizo as he stared down at the guitar. "An' papa cant stop me from playing," he said as they walked to the place they usually met to play.

From above the bedroom window, Nico watched them as they both silently walked away and into the night...

...

The weeks went by, and Nico didnt tell their parents, so papa didnt know that Chorizo was sneaking out every night to play the guitar. Alonzo and Chorizo enjoyed playing at night. It was beautiful at night, and the sounds along with the music they played was very soothing.

Unfortunately, they could only play for so long because the sleep would get to them, and on top of that, Chorizo was so sore from working all day, and exhausted at sundown. Sometimes he was unable to play at all and would just fall asleep where he sat. Alonzo would laugh softly as Chorizo fell asleep with Maria in his arms, and the wood rat would pick up the tired shrew and carry him back to his house.

The next morning, Chorizo would wake up on his front porch on the bench when the sun was just peeking up over the deep, purple mountains, and he would get up and quietly tiptoe back up to his room and sleep the remaining couple hours till his papa woke up and woke him to get ready to work for the day.

The tiring weeks passed by and turned into months. Dark bags were beginning to form under Chorizo's mustard yellow eyes. He hated having to work in the day time. He was so tired. He was washing the blood away from the floor while he held a rag to his mouth. He was so tired, he almost fell over into the bucket of blood. He collapsed, tipping the bucket of blood over, and spilling it all over the floor again. Beto turned from the sound and glared down at the tired shrew.

"Chorizo! What are you doing?! Get up!" he shouted; his red eyes seemed to glow from the sunlight coming in through the front window. Chorizo groggily got up and began wiping the blood again. Beto glared down at his son. "What is wrong with you? You're so tired all the time!" he shouted. Chorizo flinched from his papa's words, but kept cleaning. Beto got fed up with it and sighed angrily. "I hope you aint staying up at night and playing with your toys," he snalred. Chorizo shook his head.

He barely had toys to begin with. He had a cup and ball, a little train, a wooden yo-yo, and a slingshot he cherished a lot. When he was Nico's age, he would try to shoot cans from the old wooden posts in his free times. Since he never had the time, he just left it in his room. Nico loved the slingshot, but Chorizo would never let him use it or even touch it.

Chorizo began to think of the slingshot. He had almost forgotten about that, he loved that thing. It was his weapon. Just then, Rosa, Chorizo's mama, came into the room with Isabella in her arms. "I heard something crash. What happened?" she asked. Beto jerked his head over to Chorizo. "Chorizo fell over and tipped over the bucket," he said sternly and went back to cutting. Rosa looked at her son and touched his hair.

She noticed that the poor young shrew couldnt keep his eyes open. She looked over to her husband. "Beto, look at your son. He's really tired. I think you should give him the day off," she said. Beto didnt turn around. "He's fine, Rosa. He needs to build up his strength," he said. Rosa narrowed her eyes a bit. "At least give him the rest of the day off, your poor son can barely keep his eyes open," she said. Beto finally gave up and waved his hands.

"Fine. He can go and take the day off," he said. Rosa turned to Chorizo and nodded. Chorizo smiled a weak smile and put up the bucket of blood and walked up the stairs to his bed and flopped down and rested his eyes.

He woke up a couple hours later and noticed that the sun was still up outside. He decided to go out and play with his slingshot. With that, he jumped out of bed and over to his small wooden toy box. He opened the colorfully painted lid and began rumaging through tit. He wound his wooden yo-yo up and placed it down next to his side and continued looking. He found the leather cupped pouch and pulled the other half of the slingshot out. He smiled and stared down at the object in his hands.

The Y-shaped wood was polished smooth and white. The rubber strips that were tied at the ends came down and connected to a small leather piece and resting in the crook of it was a round pebble that he must have saved from the last time. He placed his slingshot in his belt and closed the lid to his toy box.

Nico watched as Chorizo came out of their room with the slingshot. His mouth turned upward into a grin and he came running up to Chorizo. "Are you going to shoot cans with the slingshot? Can I come too?" he asked. Chorizo narrowed his eyes a bit and walked past him. "No, you cant come, Nico, you're too young," he said and kept walking. Nico followed Chorizo and continued to beg. Chorizo got fed up with his younger brother and began to pick up the pace. "Leave me alone, Nico! I want to be alone!" he snapped, his yellow eyes flashed red.

Nico stopped when he saw Chorizo's eyes and stared up at his older brother with fear. Chorizo huffed. With that, he walked out and along the street of the town to the lonely, old wooden fence along the outside of town. He found some cans along the way and began collecting them in his arms. He stacked and balanced them up on the fence, and walked twenty feet away from them before stopping and raising his slingshot.

He stretched the rubber strings back, holding the pebble in the leather pocket in between his fingers. He squinted one eye and tried guesstimating on which can he wanted to hit first. Finally, he let go and the thick, rubber strings violently moved forward, rocketing the pebble to its target.

_Crash!_ the red pebble made a direct hit and the can on the far left clattered and fell to the ground. Chorizo beamed at his luck and ran over to see the damage. The pebble had dented the front, making a hole in it. Chorizo grinned and picked it up. Then he went back to where he originally stood, tossed the can near his feet, and began shooting at the cans once more.

He missed a couple times, but he got three out of five when the sun began to slowly descend from the blue sky and dip behind the jagged purple mountains. Chorizo pocketed his slingshot and began heading back to his home for dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

...

Several years passed, and before Chorizo knew it, he had turned thirteen. He woke up to the sound of his mom and Nico coming into the room with a plate of chorizos. Nico held a cake with thirteen dripping candles.

"Feliz Cumpleaños, Chorizo," they said together. Chorizo sat upright in bed and smiled. He loved it when his mom and younger brother made his birthday special. Rosa handed him the plate of chorizos and placed the birthday hat on his head.

"Make a wish," said Nico excitedly as he held the cake up to Chorizo. Chorizo grinned. It was chocolate cake, his favorite. He thought for a minute before blowing out all the thirteen lit candles. Thin trails of smoke gradually snaked up from each black tip from the candles.

"What did ya wish for?" asked Nico, grinning. Chorizo smirked. "If I tell you, it wont come true," he said. Nico gave Chorizo a small smile, but inside he feared what the wish might have been. Rosa smiled and began making her way to the door. "Get dressed and come on downstairs," she said. Chorizo grinned excitedly. He always looked forward to his birthday. Every year, he got a lot of neat toys and special meals, and everyone in the town would say, 'Feliz Cumpleaños' to him.

When Nico and Rosa left, Chorizo quickly got dressed into his worn, dark jeans and white shirt and came rushing down the wooden stairs to the kitchen where his chorizos, cake and presents sat waiting. Nico and Isabella were already sitting, anxiously awaiting Chorizo to sit down and open the two small paper wrapped presents. Chorizo smiled and sat down. His ears flicked to the sounds of cutting and he turned his head. His papa was seen in the other room with a slab of meat, cutting away.

"Beto, why dont you come into the room and join us?" asked Rosa as she sat down with her kids. Beto didnt say anything as he continued cutting away. Chorizo felt his ears go down sadly. His papa never really intended in his birthdays. He was always leaving to go and cut away at the meat. Never really spending time with his family. It frustrated him.

Rosa sighed as she looked away from her husband, then over to her kids. She smiled a small smile as she looked over at Chorizo. "Well...lets not make our birthday boy wait any longer, go ahead and open your gifts," she said. Chorizo smiled and stood up in his seat. He grabbed a box out of the small group and began tearing through the paper and ribbons. He looked inside the box and grinned.

"A top!" he said excitedly and pulled it out to examine it closer. The designs were carefully painted and had amazing, colorful designs. Rosa grinned, while Beto gruffed something and continued working. The top costed most of the money that they were saving up. Beto didnt want to waste the money on the boy, but Rosa insisted and wanted Chorizo to have a fantastic birthday,

"Open mine up next! said Nico excitedly as he jumped up and down excitedly in his seat. Rosa stopped grinning and gripped Nico's arm tightly, forcing him to stop jumping on the rickety, wooden chair that looked like it had seen better days.

"Nico! Calm down! And be careful. I dont want you breaking that chair. It's bad enough we're down to our last good chairs..." her voice began to lower as she looked over at Beto. Beto turned his head and glared at her. Then he turned back and continued working. Rosa sighed sadly, then looked up at Chorizo. "Open Nico's next, he worked really hard on his," she said.

Chorizo looked over to Nico, who grinned excitedly and nodded his head up and down at a rapid pace. Chorizo looked down at the table, then found Nico's poorly wrapped gift on the table and began to tear the old paper and rip away the cheap tied string.

Chorizo stared down at the little gift in the opened wrapping in his pale pink paws. It was a black leather belt with a leather loop on the side. Chorizo looked up at Nico with a puzzled expression. "You made me a belt?" he asked. Nico nodded excitedly, "Yeah! and I added a loop so you could put your slingshot in it," said the ten year old shrew.

Chorizo blinked and lifted the loop and stared down at it. Nico made him a belt with a loop to place his slingshot in. Chorizo had no idea what to say. He looked up at his mom, then over to Nico. "Um... gracias, Nico," he said. Nico grinned. With that, Chorizo placed the belt on.

Beto finally stopped cutting. "All right, now you can help me-" "I think Chorizo should take the day off, dear, dont you think?" asked Rosa as she got up from her chair and placed her hands on her hips. Beto's red eyes narrowed at his wife. "Rosa, he needs to work! there is no time to play or to go off and celebrate! he needs to work so he can live!" Beto snarled. Rosa glared at her husband, then scooted Chorizo toward the door.

"Go ahead, Chorizo," she said. Chorizo didnt hesitate and bolted out the door before Beto could grab him. Chorizo flinched from the sounds of hi parents loud, angry voices as they argued about Chorizo. Chorizo narrowed his eyes angrily and marched away from his house. He hated hearing them argue, especially about him. He wished that his dad could just let him do what he wanted to do.

Chorizo was so busy storming down the street that he didnt hear his name being called. He stopped when his name was called a second time and looked up. Alonzo was jogging up from behind him. In his hands he held Maria. "Hey, what's wrong? I saw you going down the street with an angry look on your face," he said.

Chorizo's eyes flashed red as he looked away. "Its nothing," he muttered. Alonzo stared down at the boy, then decided to change the subject. "Well, I have Maria with me, so if you want, we could play a couple songs," he offered. Chorizo smiled and nodded. With that, the two walked down to Alonzo's house and sat on the front porch and began to play. As he played, his anger toward his parents began to diminish and he felt a lot better.

...

The day began to grow late. Chorizo stopped playing the song he just learned and handed the guitar back to Alonzo. "Thanks for letting me play, Alonzo," said Chorizo as he got up and stood before Alonzo. Alonzo smiled and accepted Maria back. Just as he did, he noticed the belt around Chorizo's waist. "I've never noticed the belt before. Where'd you get it?" he asked. Chorizo looked down at the belt Nico gave him and back up to Alonzo.

"Oh, yeah. Nico, my hermano, made me this for my birthday," he answered. Alonzo's eyes widened a bit. "Today's your birthday?" he asked in surprise. Chorizo smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he answered. Alonzo smiled. "How old are you?" he asked. "Thirteen," said Chorizo smiling. Alonzo jerked his head back a bit in surprise.

"Thirteen! wow! already a grown man," he said. Chorizo couldnt help but laugh. Alonzo grinned, "Well, I think it would be nice for me to give you a present," said the woodrat as he handed Maria to Chorizo. Chorizo gasped and held the guitar in his hands.

He stared at Maria in his hands for a long time with his eyes wide in shock and his mouth open. He looked up at Alonzo. "Y-you're g-g-giving me M-Maria to m-me?" he stuttered in shock. He couldnt believe it. It was like giving him a millions dollars. Alonzo grinned and ruffled Chorizo's hair.

"I think you deserve her," he said. Chorizo couldnt believe what Alonzo just said. Chorizo's mouth went wide in an excited grin. "Gracias! Gracias! Gracias, Alonzo!" he said excitedly and hugged his friend. Alonzo smiled as Chorizo quickly pulled away and examined Maria. Alonzo got up and stared down at the happy boy and the guitar with a pleased smile on his face.

"You take good care of her for me, will you?" he asked. Chorizo nodded his head. "I will!" he said. With that, he said goodbye to Alonzo and began to walk back home. The sun was beginning to disappear behind the far away mountains. One by one, the stars began to appear in the dark blue sky.

Chorizo shivered from the cold and wished that he brought his poncho with him as he finally arrived at his house. He stopped when he realized that he couldnt just walk in with the guitar in his hands, he had to figure out a way to hide it from his dad. Just as he was going to go around to the back, Beto slammed open the door and glared down at his son. Chorizo gasped and placed Meria behind his back, but it was too late.

"I've had enough of this!" Beto roared, as he stormed over to Chorizo and grabbed him by his hair and dragged him inside the house. Chorizo screamed in pain and struggled to get out of his papa's grasp, but his father was too strong.

Beto shoved Chorizo against the table, thus crashing into them and causing a chair to splinter and brake. Rosa, Isabella, and Nico all stood in a corner, scared. Chorizo rubbed his head and tried getting up, but stopped when he saw his angry father loom over him.

"I am sick of this! You are a Carnicero! not a musician!" Beto shouted. Chorizo glared up at his papa and got up. "I dont have to listen to you! I never asked to be a Carnicero!" he shouted at his dad. Beto's eyes seemed to glow a deep, angry red and he bared his teeth at his son.

"Dont you dare say that! You will cut meat! Just like me, and my father, and my father's father! whether you like it or not!" with that, he grabbed Chorizo to his feet and tore the guitar away from him. "Nooo!" Chorizo screamed. Beto shoved him away and held the guitar in his hands. "This is the only way to teach you," he snarled, with that, he broke the guitar in half.

Chorizo felt as if his heart ripped. He felt tears come to his eyes as Beto tossed the two pieces of guitar to the ground and began stomping on them. Chorizo narrowed his eyes in rage, they flashed a deep blood red as he screamed and attacked his cursed loudly in rage as his thirteen year old son kicked and pounded his fists against him. Beto grabbed Chorizo by the wrists and used his other hand to beat him.

Chorizo screamed in pain as Beto beat him till he felt blood gush out of his mouth. Beto finally stopped after a couple final blows to the poor little boy's stomach and head and tossed him down like a limp rag. "Go to your room!" shouted Beto. Chorizo trembled where he lay. He was too scared to move.

Beto finally got fed up with it and lifted him up and pushed him to the stairs. "Go!" Chorizo's papa shouted. Chorizo felt his tears and blood stream down his face as he limped to his room. He looked back one last time to the guitar under his fathers feet before retreating up the stairs to his bedroom.

...

Chorizo trembled under his covers as his small ears picked up his father yelling at his mama and younger brother. Isabella was crying, abd Beto got fed up with it and told Rosa to shut her up and put her to bed. Rosa didnt want to fight with her outraged husband, so she silently did as she was told and Chorizo could hear her trying to not cry as she walked up the creaky stairs. Chorizo narrowed his eyes in frustration, making more tears come down his face.

Next, he heard Nico running up the stairs and diving into his bed and under the covers. Chorizo could hear his younger brother crying. Chorizo shifted to one side, but stopped when he felt a sore pain shoot up and down his arm. He groaned in pain and gently touched his arm where his papa had hit him.

This was the worst time he had ever got beaten by his dad. It was occasionally a hit or two, but this beating was filled with hatred. Chorizo firmly wiped his wet eyes with the back of his hand.

He froze when he heard the loud, thundering footsteps of his father, coming up the stairs. Chorizo could hear Nico breathing heavily in fear. Beto passed by their bedroom and into his room. The two shrews finally relaxed a bit.

Chorizo sighed and layed there in his bed. He thought of the broken guitar, the gift Alonzo gave him. He couldnt believe it, he broke his promise to his one and only friend. He didnt take care of her...now, she was a pile of broken, splintered wood. Chorizo buried his face in his pillow and tried drowning out his cries.

Why did his papa have to brake her? He would have rather got beaten one hundred times then for his father to have destroyed Maria. Chorizo felt himself shaking again. He was fed up with his horrible, strict father.

Beto didnt care for him, or Nico, or Isabella. All he cared about was to continue on with the business; thats all that mattered to him. He wanted the business to continue on for generations. Chorizo narrowed his eyes again.

_I wont continue on the business...I am leaving..._

He flicked the covers off him and looked around in his room. It was dark outside. shafts of moonlight streamed in through the window and into his and Nico's room; illuminating the wooden floor. Chorizo looked over to Nico's bed. Nico had finally fallen asleep. He listened for any other sounds from the other rooms. Silence.

Quietly, and carefully, he got up and looked under his bed for his boots. He found them and slipped them on. Then he tiptoed to his chest of toys. Lying on top was his slingshot. He carefully lifted it up out of the box and placed it through the loop of the belt Nico gave him.

It fitted inside perfectly and hung against his hip. He looked over to Nico, who had cried himself to sleep. Chorizo quietly came up to the side of his bed and stared down at him.

_"I dont want you to run away," _Nico's voice said in his head.

Chorizo sighed and looked down at his boots before looking up to his younger brother. "Im sorry, Nico...I'm breaking my promise," he whispered. Nico didnt stir, he continued to sleep away. Chorizo felt guilty leaving, but he didnt want to stay with his strict papa any longer. "Goodbye, Nico," whispered Chorizo and silently walked away from the ten year old shrews bed and to the door.

Chorizo silently began to make his way down the steps. He held his breath everytime the wooden stairs creaked. He lifted his foot up, then moved it to another spot on the step. Silence. He sighed silently with relief and gingerly made his way down the stairs as quietly as possible. He made his way to the kitchen and began collecting some food and putting it in a leather satchel.

He stopped when he saw the broken pieces of the guitar still on the ground in front of him. He pushed back the tears from his eyes and began collecting them and quietly placing them into his bag. When he was done he listened to see if anyone was up. No sound.

He sighed quietly and made his way to the door. He slowly undid the latch and carefully cutled his fingers around the cold doorknob and puuled it. The door creaked, making Chorizo stop pulling. His ears went back. No sounds from upstairs. He sighed with relief.

He turned back to the door, pulling it slower this time. When he got to about a foot, an instant cold breeze hit him in the chest. He shivered and rubbed his arm that held the door. The night was freezing. He turned to the closet where his poncho was. He opened the closet door, carefully opening it, grabbed his poncho, placed it on, then went back to the door and opened it a bit wider.

Once the door was opened halfway. Chorizo slipped out, and closed the door slowly. When the door made a soft click, he turned around and faced the town before him. He narrowed his eyes and moved into the shadows of the buildings that the moonlight was unable to reach. He moved around from one building to the other, then he stopped and found himself at the entrance and exit of his town.

He turned back one last time to his house before turning back and walking out into the desert. The moon hung above him, illuminating the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

...

The sun slowly came up and shined down upon the white, stretching desert below. Chorizo winced when the sunlight came through his eyelids, thus waking him up from where he slept. He slowly sat upright and looked around. At first, he was confused on how he ended up in the middle of the desert; but the small jolts of pain from his shoulders and face instantly made him remember.

He rubbed his face gently and felt hard pieces of dried blood that began to crust on his dark fur and whiskers. He picked them away before standing up and stretching. After that, he picked up his poncho that he used as a blanket and held it in his arms. He looked around. He stood near a bunch of big boulders higher then his head. He looked back to the direction of the town he had just left.

He could barely see it, just a faded dark speck. His eyes flashed red and he looked away from it and to the direction he was heading. He had heard of a town just a couple miles from his old town, and thought that would be a perfect place to start looking for his older brother, Edwardo.

He tied the ends of his ponco around his neck. Then he adjusted the belt around his waist. He looked down at it and instantly thought of Nico. He sighed, feeling guilty for leaving him, and his little sister...but he knew it was going to leave one day...just like Edwardo...

Chorizo shook his head and picked up his little satchel of food. He opened it and began to rumage through it till he found an apple and began munching on it. Filling his belly, he bagan to march the opposite direction from his town and out into the desert, where a possible town awaited him.

...

Along the way, the sun began to slowly crawl its way up into the cloudless blue sky. Chorizo panted and took off his poncho and slung it over his shoulder. Next, he reached into his bag and pulled out a canteen of water. He took a couple heavy swigs before cupping his hand and slapping it on his neck and rubbing as much as the cool water around as possible.

The sun was harsh and continued to burn above him. His shadow dragged pathetically behind him as he staggered along, over the hot rocks and twigs. Beads of sweat dripped down the side of his face. Chorizo sighed and wiped his forehead with the back of his furry arm, but he didnt want to give up.

_It's better than being beaten by papa again... I would rather get heatstroke then face him..._

Chorizo blinked out of the horrible memories of his father and continued walking. He could feel the weight of the broken pieces of Maria in his satchel...constantly reminding him of that night...the night on his birthday... Chorizo felt tears come down his face, but he clenched his teeth and wiped them away.

Suddenly, he heard something behind him. He stopped and turned around. Faintly, he could see something dark in the rippling heat above the hot, white ground. It was a wagon. A wagon coming his way. Chorizo took a couple steps back. Hesitant. An image of his father coming to get him instantly scared him. Chorizo took a couple more steps back. _Maybe its not? _He thought, hopefully, but a horrible feeling twisted around in his stomach.

His feet shifted nervously in the dirt. He froze. The wagon got closer and closer. Finally, the driver saw him and began to slow the javelina that was pulling it to a stop. Dust rose up from the ground and around the wagon. Chorizo coughed and looked up at the driver. The dust slowly settled and Chorizo got a good look at the driver.

It was a wrinkly, old, collared lizard, wearing a worn straw hat, dirty blue overalls over a tattered dark brown shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his green and blue arms. He had a piece of dried wheat hanging limp out of his mouth. Chorizo felt the knots loosen in his stomach as he sighed with relief. The old lizard stared down at him quizzically.

"Well now...whas' a little boy doin' out here in the middle of the hot desert?" he asked in Spanish. Chorizo stared back at the lizard. He shyly gripped the strap to his satchel tightly and shifting one foot to the next before answering. "Um...I-I'm looking for a t-town..." said Chorizo in a small, shy voice. The farmer looked down at Chorizo with his old, brown eyes.. Then he smiled, revealing his jack-o-lanturn like teeth.

"You're headin' toward La Luz. It's a nice town. My granddaughter lives there," he said. He scooted over a bit. "I could take you there," he offered. "It will be quicker then walking," he said with a smile. Chorizo smiled back shyly. He hesitated for a minute, then hopped on and sat next to the old lizard.

The old farmer whipped the reins and the javelina jolted forward and continued on down the faint trail to La turned his head to the back of the wagon and noticed a lot of freshly picked vegetables in assorted baskets. The old lizard turned to Chorizo, noticing that he was looking at his harvest.

He smiled, "Best harvest this year," he said to Chorizo. The young shrew stopped looking at the baskets and turned to the old lizard. The farmer smirked and tipped his hat. "Name's George by the way," he said. Chorizo shifted on the wooden seat where he sat before looking up at George. He didnt say anything.

"Whas' your name, nino?" George asked when he turned to Chorizo, who instantly looked away. "...Chorizo," he muttered. George blinked and turned to the young shrew again. "What? I didn't catch that," he said as he leaned down to the shrew. Chorizo shifted nervously and scooted a bit away from the old farmer.

"Chorizo, My name is Chorizo," he answered, a little louder this time. George nodded and straightened back up. "Like the sausage, eh?" he smiled and laughed a small laugh. Chorizo's ears went back and he looked down at his boots. George continued talking.

"I've never heard anyone named after a type of food before," George said as he whipped the reins again to make the boar go faster. "I named this girl righ' here, Maiz, she loves maiz," George said as he pointed to his javelina pulling the wagon. Maiz made a grunt and continued pulling the wagon along.

Chorizo nodded his head softly. "I-I like ch-chorizos..." he said softly, but George was unable to hear him. "She's a good girl, loves to eat a lot. Her mama was named Flores, cause she was born near a patch of the most lovely flores you would ever see in the springtime. My sister named her that, and I got to name Flores' daughter, Maiz," said George proudly as he smiled at Chorizo with his mouth of missing teeth. He only had a couple rotten ones hanging from his black gums. Chorizo flinched and looked away.

George closed his mouth and turned back to face the front. He leaned over and gave Maiz a quick pat before straighteneing back up and staring straight ahead to the faint trail that led to the town. "So...why were you out here?" George finally asked. Chorizo flinched from George's sudden question. He slowly turned his head up to the old lizard and began to fumble with his hands nervously.

"I...I...l-left...m-my town to f-f-find my b-brother..." stuttered Chorizo. George gave him a look. "You left yer town? What town was that?" he asked. Chorizo looked down. His eyes shifted. He didnt really want to tell George where he came from, but he couldnt think up anyway to lie to him. Chorizo finally sighed and looked back up at George.

"El Ro-Roco Rojo," he said.

George continued to stare at the young shrew. "What about your parents? Dont you have any parents?" he asked. Chorizo looked away and tried to not think about his papa at the moment. He didnt have a father...he only left his mama, Nico, and Isabella...It was now just him, on his own...

Chorizo just shook his head. George closed his mouth, then slowly turned his head back to the front. "...Oh..." was all the old lizard said. Chorizo sighed. After that, it was quiet the rest of the journey.

...

It took them around an hour to finally find the town: La Luz. George grinned and pointed to the town. "Well, there it is, the beutiful town of Luz. I love comin' by and seein' my granddaughter to see how she's doin'. She works at the general store there. I usually come in when I have harvested my lot and get my payment. Then its back to the farm where my wife is makin' me a pie. I love her cherry pies. She's won many contests with her famous pies everytime the town decides to host their annual fiestas..." George continued talking on and on about his life.

Chorizo would sometimes be listening, but he mostly just stared straight at the strange, unknown town. He began to feel scared. This was his first time out of his town and on his own. He wasnt sure what to expect, but George made it sound like that it was a very nice, peaceful place, and that there was nothing to fear.

Chorizo took a deep breath as the wagon crossed under the wooden archway with the town's name painted in faded white letters on a flat wooden piece of wood. The wagon made its way down the street in the small town. Chorizo stared at the strange buildings and houses. It was very different then his town.

In his town, the buildings were either made of sticks, adobe, clay, or the main material, the red rocks, which was why it was called El Roco Rojo. This town had very strange buildings. One of them, which was the saloon, was a cow skull with a colorful design of a flower painted on its forehead.

Another was a huge, tattered sombrero (which was the hat store) with a hole chewed out in the front as the doorway. The one next to it looked like an old, pink donkey pinata standing upright, supported by wooden beams. The lower half was gone, which created a huge opening for the citizens to easily walk in and out of.

Chorizo was stunned by the oversized objects he reconized and was familiar with. He couldnt believe how they were so big, and were being used as buildings and parts of the town. George finally stopped the wagon in front of a huge, upside down wooden basket that had a sign in the middle with huge words painted in black: El Almacén General.

Just as they stopped, the door in front of the store opened and a young light brown collared lizard wearing a blue dress came out to greet them. She had long, dark brown curly hair, and had beautiful green and yellow eyes. She was around her early twenties.

"Abuelo!" she shouted excitedly and wrapped her arms arounf the old lizard as he just came down from the wagon. George grinned and hugged his granddaughter back. "Hola, bonita. How are you?" he asked her. The young female lizard stopped hugging her gradpapa and smiled excitedly up at him.

"I'm doing great! especially now that you are here! What did you bring?" she asked and looked over to the wagon. Her eyes widened and her mouth somewhat disappeared when she noticed Chorizo sitting in the wagon. She stared at him, then cautiously walked up to him.

"Abuelo...who's this?" she asked. George turned and looked up at Chorizo. "Oh, Enrika, this is Chorizo. Chorizo, this is my nieta, Enrika," George introduced them with a smile on his wrinkly, old face. Enrika's mouth curled up into a friendly smile and she lifted her hand up for Chorizo to shake. Chorizo shyly looked away.

Enrika slowly lowered her hand and turned to her grandpa. George just smiled softly and leaned down to Enrika. "He's a little shy. I was hoping you could help him. He lost his parents, and now he's tryin' to look for his brother," George told her in a low voice. Enrika looked back up at Chorizo with a look of sympathy on her face. "Poor thing. Who's his hermano?" she asked. George shrugged.

"He didnt tell me," he answered. Enrika stared up at Chorizo, who continued to look down at his boots. Just then, the door from the general store burst open and a lanky grey squirrel came out. He wore a pair of worn suspenders and dirty black pants with holes in the knees. His black hair was short, but wirey, with streaks of faded red and white. His eyes were brown with hints of yellow and he walked with a limp. He looked like he was in his late thirties.

The squirrel narrowed his eyes at Enrika and came up to her and gripped her shoulder tightly. "Where the hell did you go?! I was calling you for the last ten-" He stopped when he realized that George was standing right next to the young, female collared lizard. He let go of Enrika's shoulder and cleared his throat as he averted his eyes from George a bit.

"...Hola, George," he said. George gave a stern look at the middle aged squirrel. "Buenos dias, Saul, how are things going?" George asked in a firm tone. Saul shifted nervously before fully looking right at George. "Doin' fine, we almost got all the sacks of wheat sold," he said, his bushy grey tail twitched nervously when George nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Very good," he said. Saul nodded, then he felt as if he was being watched and looked up to the wagon where Chorizo was sitting. Saul narrowed his big eyes a bit and looked over to George. "Who's the nino?" he asked. George told Saul Chorizo's small story. Saul nodded, and began running his thumb up and down the inside of his suspenders. He continued staring at Chorizo with narrowed eyes. Chorizo averted his eyes from the grey squirrel and stayed where he was.

After the introduction, Enrika, Saul and George worked to take the baskets of vegetables down from the wagon and into the store. Chorizo would occasionally watch them, but then would look back down at the satchel and poncho in his arms. He ran his fingers across the poncho's worn threading. It made him think of home, and feeling safe and secure.

Just then, George and Enrika came up to his side of the wagon. "Come on down, Chorizo," said George. Chorizo stared at the two, then finally got up and jumped down from the wagon. Enrika smiled down at Chorizo and held out her hand. Chorizo stared at it, then finally accepted it and held it. George smiled and ruffled Chorizo's messy black hair before turning back to Enrika.

"Well, best be off, your abuela is baking me a pie," he said grinning. Enrika smiled and hugged her abuelo with her free arm. George waved goodbye to Saul and Chorizo and hopped back into his wagon. With that, he whipped the reins, and Maiz began to pull the wagon away from the store, turned around, and out into the desert again.


	7. Chapter 7

...

When the wagon was gone, Saul turned his head to Enrika and narrowed his eyes a bit at her. "So...what are you gonna do with...this?" he asked as his eyes flickered down to Chorizo. Enrika turned to Saul before looking down at Chorizo. Chorizo looked up at the twenty year old collard lizard with his big, mustard yellow eyes. Enrika smiled down at him.

"I'm going to take care of him while he's here," she said, smiling. Saul made a look of disgust. "Well, while he's here, I dont want him walking around in my store." Enrika looked at her boss. "I'll watch him, I promise," she said. Saul narrowed his eyes even more. "I dont like having kids in my store, Enrika," said Saul. "They steal the candy from the candy jars and make a mess," he snarled.

Enrika looked at Saul, then at Chorizo. "I dont think he would steal. He doesnt look like the kind who would steal," she said. Chorizo's eyes gradually looked back up at Enrika. He gave her a small, shy smile before looking away. Enrika continued; "and if he does steal, or break anything, you can take it out of my payment," she said.

Saul gave the lizard girl a look before looking down at the young shrew. He sighed and looked down at the ground with his hands on his hips. Finally, he looked back up, "All right, but he's _your_ responsibility, Enrika. If he as so much makes a scratch on anything, you wont be getting your payment for the next month," he said as he glared at Enrika and pointed at her. Enrika nodded. "Si, senor," she said.

With that, Saul pointed to the door. "Now git back to work! I have baskets of vegetables that need washing and sorting!" he demanded. Enrika quickly rushed to the door and disappeared inside the store. Saul gave one look at Chorizo before slowly turning and walking inside the store. Chorizo hesitated before following in after the two older creatures.

Inside the store was huge. It had lots and lots of shelves that went all the way around the inside of the basket and was filled with many items of food and other goods. Chorizo walked along the aisles and looked at the items that sat in neat lines and waited to be bought. Chorizo stopped when he saw a beautifully painted figurine of a puppet on strings. He was about to reach up and touch it, but stopped when Saul appeared and glared at him.

"You touch it, it comes out of your hide, nino," he snarled. Chorizo slowly lowered his hand and continued walking to the back where Enrika was as she carried a basket to the sink and began washing the harvest that her grandfather left for them. Chorizo watched her for a while before finding a chair and sitting down in it.

He continued looking around the store where he sat. It had so many curiosities that Chorizo has never seen before, and many colorful toys and jars of candy. Saul brushed past him and stood behind the desk where an old cash register sat. The squirrel sat down and rested his feet up on the desk.

Chorizo looked down at his satchel when Saul looked over at him suspiciously. Only the sounds of Enrika washing the vegetables was heard. After washing five carrots, Enrika spoke. "So, Chorizo, what town are you from?" she asked. Chorizo twiddled with the strap on his old leather satchel.

" El Roco Rojo," he answered. Enrika nodded. "My grandpa went there once. He says the place is very small and has nice people there. Did you have any friends there?" she asked. Chorizo instantly thought about Alonzo. He felt bad for not saying goodbye to him, he wished he could tell him, but if he went back, his father was to surely find him and never let him see the light of day again!

"Si, his name was Alonzo...he...he taught me to play," said Chorizo. Enrika turned her head to Chorizo. "Play? What do you mean?" she asked. Chorizo wished he never brought that up. He sighed and stopped touching the satchel's strap. "La guitarra, he taught me to play la guitarra," he told her.

Enrika stopped washing the vegetables for only a second to look at Chorizo, but Saul snapped at her, causing her to have to turn back and continue her work. Saul narrowed his eyes at Chorizo and began to get up from his spot and walk up to the young shrew.

"You can tell your sad tale later, right now, I need Enrika to wash those vegetables and sort them so she can put them in the baskets with the others to sell! So either keep your mouth shut, or go outside and play with the other little brats your age," Saul snarled. Chorizo didnt like how Saul was talking to him. Chorizo narrowed his eyes back and bared his teeth. His eyes flashed red. Saul blinked and jerked back a bit in surprise.

_What the hell? _Saul wondered as he stared at the young shrew. Chorizo glared at him from where he sat. Saul blinked again and tried to see if the young boys eyes would flash red again, but they didnt. Saul shook his head and sighed. Must have been the trick of the light...

With that, Saul walked away from Chorizo and out the back door near Enrika and was gone. Enrika looked over to Chorizo, wondering what just happened when Saul was talking to him. Chorizo stopped narrowing his eyes and looked away. Enrika decided not to ask and continued working.

Chorizo looked back up at Enrika. He instantly felt bad for her, having to work and having to watch over him. She didnt have to watch him, he was a young man; he didnt need to be baby sat. Chorizo got up and began helping Enrika wash the vegetables. Enrika was surprised when she saw Chorizo standing next to her with a tomato in his hands. Enrika smiled and placed the freshly washed cuccumber down in the basket next to her.

"So, how old are you?" she asked him. "Thirteen," he answered. Enrika nodded. "How old were you when you lost your parents?" she asked. Chorizo didnt answer. Enrika turned to Chorizo. "I-Im sorry, I didnt mean-!" "I didnt lose them...I ran away from them," he told her. Enrika blinked. "You ran away? why?" she asked. Chorizo picked up another vegetable and washed it.

"My papa...he would beat me...everytime I didnt do what he wanted..." he told her. Chorizo told her about how his family was in the butcher business and how he was the oldest, besides Edwardo who ran away, and that he was next in line to take over the business. Enrika and Chorizo finished a basket and were on to the next one.

Enrika's eyes widened when she saw Chorizo's eyes flash red before changing back to their normal mustard yellow color again. Chorizo stared down at the sink as he thought of his papa. Suddenly, Chorizo felt Enrika's arms wrap around him. He flinched in surprise and turned to look up at her. Enrika stopped hugging him.

"You are safe now, dont worry," she said. Chorizo watched as she gave him a big smile. Gradually, he gave her a big smile back. Then, they quickly turned back when Saul came back from the back door and brushed past them to the desk with the cash register.

...

Chorizo helped Enrika with her job in the store all through the day. When the sun began to set, it was time to close up shop. Saul locked the store up after Chorizo and Enrika were out. He pocketed the key and nodded his head. "Allrigh', tomorrow, I need you to sweep inside the store again, Enrika," he told her. Enrika nodded.

"Si, senor. Adios," she said smiling. Saul gave her a small wave, and gave Chorizo a look before walking the opposite direction. With that, Enrika began walking to where she stayed. Chorizo followed after Enrika. The sky was dark, but in the distance it was very bright, creating shadows to stretch along the street.

They walked toward the donkey pinata; which was the hotel in the town. The darkness gave it a creepy appearance and the frayed pink, yellow and blue "fur" rustled in the gentle wind. The mane was nearly gone and the tail had only a couple long streamers twitching and jerking along the dirt ground.

Chorizo followed close behind Enrika as they approached the huge, still monster and entered into its torso. Inside were a bunch of beams and wood that criss crossed in every direction, in order to keep the donkey upright. Latters were seen everywhere, stretching upward and horizontal.

Enrika began climbing up one of the latters at the base and began going up. Chorizo followed suit. A couple times they had to move from one latter to the next in order to get to the top, or to move out of the way for another person. Finally they reached the head of the donkey and went to the back of it. "Welcome to my room," Enrika said with a smile on her face as she pointed to where she lived.

The inside was all worn and the cardboard that covered the inside was beginning to dampen from the weather. A hole was created as a window in order to see outside. On the ground were Enrikas clothes and possesions. A small blanket and old pillow was seen in the corner.

"Its not much, but its all I have," she explained. Chorizo's eyes looked all around her small spaced room. He instantly felt bad for her, having to live in this horrible condition. Enrika walked past him and to where a couple rusty pots sat. "Would you like some food?" she asked. Chorizo felt his stomach growl. He nodded his head. Enrika smiled and began preparing something. "You can sit down. Make yourself comfortable," she said.

Chorizo sat down on her "bed." he placed his satchel down and opened it. He rumaged through it. As he did, he stopped when he found the pieces of Maria in it. He stopped and stared down at it. Enrika turned her head and stopped stirring the pot when she saw that her guest was upset.

"Chorizo? What's wrong?" she asked. Chorizo didnt answer as he stared down at the broken guitar in his satchel. Enrika got up and walked over to him. She noticed the broken guitar in his satchel. "What's this?" she asked as she started to reach down. Chorizo jerked his satchel away from her.

Enrika stopped her hand, and looked at Chorizo. "Chorizo?" she asked softly. Chorizo didnt answer. Enrika sat down next to the young shrew and hugged him. "Its ok, I wont do anything to upset you," she said. Chorizo looked down athis boots and felt tears coming down his eyes. He quickly wiped them away in frustration.

"...It's nothing..." he told her. Enrika nodded her head. "Ok," she said. After a couple minutes, she got up and finished preparing the food. She turned on a light, which illuminated the room, and bean heating up the food. After it was heated, she handed the food on a plate to Chorizo. Chorizo used his hands to eat the food. It was bland, and needed salt, but other then that, it was ok. Chorizo and Enrika sat in silence as they ate.

Chorizo would occasionally stop eating to look out the hole that represented the window. The sun had disappeared and was replaced by billions of twinkling silver stars. Enrika noticed and stopped eating. "Do you miss your home?" she asked. Chorizo snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Enrika. He looked away and shook his head.

"No, I never liked it. It was small and boring...I had no friends. Alonzo was my only friend...and Maria..." his voice faltered as he looked over to his satchel that leaned up against the cardboard wall. Enrika turned to the satchel before giving Chorizo a nervous puzzled glance. "Maria?" she asked. Chorizo sighed and grabbed the satchel. He opened it up and showed her the broken pieces of what once represented a guitar.

"This is Maria...she's a guitar. My papa broke her," he explained. Enrika blinked, "Que? Why?" she asked. Chorizo lowered the satchel. "Because papa doesnt think its important," he just said. Enrika nodded. "Oh," she said. They sat in silence for a while. Finally Enrika looked up at Chorizo. "Would you like to give Maria a proper burial tomorrow?" she asked. Chorizo looked up at her in confusion, but then seemed to understand what she was asking. Gradually, he nodded his head. Enrika smiled a small, warm smile.

After dinner, they decided to go to sleep. Chorizo refused to sleep where Enrika slept, but Enrika insisted and slept on her pile of clothes. Chorizo zighed as he bundled up in the old worn blankets. He looked back up to the window and looked out at the stars. He sighed. Deep down, he actually wished he was in his own bed. He missed his mom, Isabelle and Nico.

He curled his fingers around the belt Nico gave him on his birthday. Guilt sliced through him. He broke a promise to his brother, and he still felt horrible for doing so. Chorizo's eyes began to feel heavy and he rested his head down on the small pillow and fell asleep, thinking of home...

...

A couple days passed, and Chorizo continued to stay in La Luz. Enrika would wake him up in the mornings, eat breakfast, get dressed, then head down to the general store to work on whatever Saul told them to do. Saul still didnt really like having Chorizo around, but let him help Enrika with her job and taking care of the store. Saul continued to give Chorizo a hard time and threatening him if he touched or even bumped into any of the stands.

Chorizo didnt mind, it was better then having to cut meat all day and having to suffer with the smell on his clothes everyday. Just the thought of having to smell the dead animal made him feel ill and he had to go outside to get some fresh air. Chorizo actually got to see some of the citizens of La Luz as they would come in to buy something from the store.

Some were very strange creatures he had never seen before. In his small town, everyone somewhat all looked the same, and were a slightly different type of mouse, shrew or other rodent. Here in La Luz, there were strange looking lizards, birds, cats and foxes. Most of them wore colorful dresses and serapes.

He would instantly feel shy and would move down a different asile when someone came to where he was sorting or cleaning. Enrika would sometimes be in charge of the cash register while Saul was out down the street or something.

A couple times, Chorizo saw a couple of the town kids come by and talk to Enrika. Mostly the girls would come by to say hi to the female lizard, other times a group of boys would come and distract Enrika while the other tried to steal candy, but Enrika was good and knew what mischief they were up to.

Most of the times, no one came to the store, so Chorizo and Enrika would talk or play with the toys in the store when Saul wasn't around. One day, Enrika found a guitar in one of the asiles. It was wooden with painted designs on the sides, and she offered it to Chorizo to take in place of Maria. Chorizo stared at the guitar. It didnt look like Maria, and Saul would instantly know that the guitar was missing, so Chorizo shook his head. "No, its ok. I dont need a new guitar," he told her.

George came by and said hi. He was happy to see that Chorizo didnt leave town yet and was able to talk to him about things from his past while the young boy worked. Saul didnt even come near Chorizo the whole day because of George. He knew that George would make him regret ever making things hard for the young boy so he decided to stay away and work on his papers.

After the day finally ame to the end, Enrika and Chorizo said goodbye to George and began to walk back to the Pinata Hotel. Chorizo would go around to behind the pinata where they buried Maria a couple days ago. A mound of dirt surrounded by a bunch of white stones and a small bundle of flowers was seen to indicate where the guitar was buried. Chorizo would stare down at the grave of the guitar before saying goodbye and walking back with Enrika to the front of the hotel and going up to their room to sleep.

...

The next day, Chorizo was outside, sweeping the front porch in front of the general store. It was a hot day outside. Thankfully there was a slanting roof over his head to keep him out of the sun. The dust picked up and danced around his black boots as he continued to sweep the wooden porch. Suddenly, his ears perked up to the sounds of a wagon.

He looked up and noticed that a wagon was coning into the town. He stared at the wagon till his eyes trailed up to the driver. His eyes widened in horror and he quickly dropped the broom and bolted into the general store. His poncho flew behind him as he came running down one of the asiles to the cash register where Enrika sat.

Enrika got up from her chair in alarm when she saw Chorizo running right toward him. "Chorizo! What's-?" she started, but stopped when she watched as Chorizo jumped over the desk and hid under it. She looked up and noticed a huge dark figure pass by the window at the front of the store.

The door slammed open, causing the bell above to ring loudly overhead. Saul came out from the back room and noticed the man at the door. He was a big guy, with messy hair, and a serape over his blood spattered white clothes. It was Beto. Beto narrowed his red eyes as he scanned the store. Saul walked down one of the asiles to the huge shrew.

"Buenos dias senor, how we may be of service?" Saul asked in the most best polite way that he could muster up. Beto turned his head down to the lanky grey squirrel. Saul stiffened a bit when he saw the man's dark, red eyes glare down at him.

"I'm trying to look for my son, Chorizo. He ran away from home, and I would like to take him back. Word got around that he came here," he said as he pulled out a small picture of a young shrew in a white shirt and shorts. Saul stared at the picture. He instantly knew that the man was Chorizo's father.

Saul looked up at the huge rodent. "Why did he run away?" he asked. Beto glared down at the squirrel, his red eyes seemed to glow. "That's none of your business!" he shouted. Saul took one step back. "Dont get all upset, senor, I'm just asking-" "Shut up!" snarled Beto. Then he shoved the picture in Saul's face.

"Last time! Have you seen this nino or not?!" he shouted. Saul pushed the picture from his face and glared up at Chorizo's papa. "I dont have to answer to you. You are being a problem in my store, so go find your son somewhere else," Saul said. Beto's hands curled into tight fists. He bared his teeth. Saul didnt seem to take the warning and continued talking.

"I think it was smart for your son to have ran away from home, so he wouldnt have to put up with an asshole parent like-" Saul was unable to finish when Beto growled in rage and smacked the squirrel aside. Saul crashed into a couple barrels of pickles and fell to the ground. The pickles and liquid spilled everywhere and the barrels smashed on the ground.

Enrika gasped in horror and was about to run over to Saul to see if he was ok, but froze when Beto saw her and began to approach her. Chorizo held his breath and hugged his knees tightly under the desk when he heard his papa storning right up to the cash register. Beto stopped and glared down at Enrika.

"Where is my son?!" he shouted. Enrika shook where she stood, unable to move. "I...I-I h-have n-no idea, s-senor," she stuttered, straining to not look down at the desk. Beto's bloodred eyes stared deep into Enrika's and into her soul. Enrika trembled in fear. "I-I'm s-sorry, s-senor...w-we n-never saw y-y-your s-son," she lied. Beto continued to glare down at her. Finally, he slammed his huge fists down on the desk.

The desk wobbled and a huge crack appeared. Beto cursed under his breath and stared down in rage at his huge fists before looking back up at Enrika. He was breathing heavily and his eyes flickered anger. "Do you know anyone who might?" he asked, in a low, but still firm tone. Enrika shook her head. Beto bared his teeth, but shook his head. He smacked a jar of peaches aside, making them smash to the floor. Enrika flinched, but didnt say anything.

With that, Beto turned around and began walking back to the front. He kicked a box of fruit aside and chucked a wooden top at one for the windows in the front. The window shattered and shards of glass crashed to the ground. With that, Beto left the store and slammed the door hard behind him, causing one of the hinges to break loose. Saul got up and was soaked in pickle juice. He narrowed his eyes as he watched Beto storm away from his store.

Chorizo slowly got out form his hiding place and looked at all the damage that his father left. He looked over to Enrika, who was still frozen in terror. Chorizo felt bed. He felt that it was his fault for what his papa had done to the store. Saul rubbed his arm and flexed it a bit. He found a deep gash from one of the barrels in his right arm and it was beginning to bleed. Enrika instantly rushed over to help Saul. Saul pushed her away.

"I'm fine," he said firmly, but let Enrika lead him to the desk where Chorizo stood. Chorizo stared at Saul with guilt. Saul didnt seem to pay attention to the shrew as he began drying himself off with a couple towels while Enrika dabbed at his wound.

Chorizo started to walk away, but stopped when Saul called him. "Clean up what your papa broke, nino," said Saul. Chorizo nodded without turning to face Saul and silently grabbed a broom. While Chorizo was cleaning up after his dad, Enrika stopped helping Saul and looked at him.

"You knew that was Chorizo's papa," she said. Saul didnt answer as he continued to use the towel to dry his hair. "You didnt tell him that Chorizo was here...why?" she asked. Saul was still silent. After he was done using the towel, he began walking to the back door of the store.

"I need a shower, watch the store for me," he said, and disappeared. Enrika stared at the door Saul disappeared through, then she turned back and watched Chorizo sweep the pieces of glass from the window.

...

That night, when Enrika and Chorizo walked into their room, they ate their dinner in silence. Chorizo still felt horrible for what his papa did to the store. Beto was hunting him down, he needed to leave before he came back and found him again. He needed to keep moving. Chorizo looked back up at Enrika. Her hands were shaking as she tried drinking from the cup in her hands. He looked down at his cup in his hands. He wished Enrika never met his dad.

When they were done eating, they instantly went to sleep. A couple hours later, when Enrika was sound asleep on her pile of clothes, Choizo got up and began to silently gather up his belongings. He stopped and turned to Enrika. He walked over to her and whispered goodbye and kissing her very lightly on the cheek. Then he tiptoed down the crazy pattern of latters and walked out of the hotel and on his way out of La Luz.

Just as he was getting to the exit on the opposite direction of the entrance of the town, he heard his name. He froze where he stood and looked around. Instantly, out from the shadows came Saul. Chorizo felaxed a bit, but stared at the squirrel confusingly. "What are you doing here?" asked Chorizo. Saul gave the young boy a look. "I was gonna ask you the same thing, nino," he said. Chorizo sighed. "I need to leave," he said. Saul stared at the shrew.

"It's because of your brother, isnt it?" he asked. Chorizo looked down. "Not just that, but that my papa is trying to find me. I dont want to go back home...he'll beat me and make me work in the shop till I cant feel my hands," he explained to Saul. Saul nodded. "I know what you mean," he said. Chorizo stared up at Saul. "You do?" he asked. Saul nodded.

"I had a father who used to abuse me too. He mostly came home drunk and would get angry at me for no reason and would beat me and hurt me till I was unconscious..." Saul's voice faltered a bit and he looked down. "I've never told anyone this before," he admitted. Chorizo stared up at him in shock. That was why Saul always acted like an ass. He had a hard time with his dad as much as Chorizo did.

Saul sighed and looked back at Chorizo. "So, you arent leaving without saying goodbye?" he asked. Chorizo averted his eyes from the squirrel. "I dont want to bring more trouble to your store...or Enrika," he said truthfully. Saul nodded. With that, he held out his hand. "Well, so long, Chorizo," he said. Chorizo looked up and shook hands with Saul.

"Oh, and one more thing," said Saul as he pulled out a small bag from behind his back and gave it to Chorizo. Chorizo stared inside. Inside was a bunch of food, and a guitar from the store. Chorizo looked up at Saul in shock. "I-I cant take this-" "Consider it as a thank you for helping out in the store, and as a goodbye gift from me and Enrika," Saul said. Chorizo still couldnt believe it.

"And dont worry, I wont be taking it out of Enrika's payment," Saul added with a small smile on his face. Chorizo stared up at the squirrel. He never thought he would ever see Saul act nice toward him, let alone smile. Chorizo returned the smile and nodded his head. "Gracias, senor," he said. With that, they shook hands for the last time and Chorizo walked out into the desert and started to head away from La Luz.


	8. Chapter 8

...

The sun slowly rose up as the dark blue sky began to fade into a light periwinkle blue. Chorizo had walked a mile away from La Luz before taking a rest and closing his eyes. The sunlight woke him up. He yawned as he slowly sat upright and stretched his arms. He turned and could still see La Luz in the distance. He felt bad for leaving Saul and Enrika. Chorizo sighed and shook his head. Maybe he could visit them when he found his brother.

_In the couple days he was in the town, he told Enrika about his brother. When the day was over, they went over to George, to ask if anyone by the name of Edwardo Carnicero had come by into town. George couldnt recall, but told them to ask Mr. Garcia who worked in the stables with the roadrunners. _

_Mr. Garcia was an old dog who was a bit crazy in the head. He said that he did know of a young man by the name of Edwardo a couple years back, and said that he worked for Felipe in the blacksmith shop for a couple weeks till he had some money to go off toward the next town called El Taco._

Chorizo hoped that his brother was still in El Taco. With that, Chorizo got up and began to walk further into the desert, away from the town of La Luz...

The minutes slowly ticked into hours...The sun burned the cool atmosphere away and made the whole desert into a hot dead land. Chorizo sat in the shade under a dried up, dying Spanish Dagger. He opened up his canteen of cool water and drank heavy gulps. He capped the cork back on and wiped his wet mouth with the back of his sleeve.

Chorizo adjusted the poncho around him and leaned against the dead plant as it loomed over him, as if pleading to have a sip of the water in his hands. He stared out at the white, hot desert before him.

To the right of him was La Luz, now just a flickering dark figure on the horizon. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he rested his head and closed his eyes for a minute. Just then, his ears perked up to the sounds of a train engine whistle.

He blinked his eyes open and lifted his head up. His ears perked up again when he heard the noise. He looked to his left, and noticed a train in the distance. He got up and watched as the dark outline of the train began to slowly slither across the shimmering horizon. He picked up his satchel and the bag Saul gave him and began making his way toward the train.

It took him an hour to finally make it to the train tracks that stretched along the hot, uneven desert ground. He walked along the shiny metal tracks, staring down at the strange trail the iron beast had crawled across. Chorizo had never really seen a train before. He saw them in pictures when he went to school, but never saw them in person since his father never let him go outside of his own home.

As he began to walk along the tracks, he began to wonder if he was heading in the right direction. He saw the train pass by along the way he was heading; but what if it didnt lead to El Taco? Chorizo stopped. His eyes followed along the tracks that disappeared toward the mountains. Then he turned his head and watched the tracks stretch out the other way till they disappeared into the desert horizon. He placed his hand over his eyes from the sun and squinted.

Suddenly, he felt a shadow pass over him. His eyes widened and he looked up. It was a huge bird. It had dark brown feathers and a sharp black beak. Chorizo gasped and began to panic. The hawk screeched and circled back and made a dive toward him. Chorizo's instincts kicked in and he began to run.

The hawk shreaked again as it began to close in on its prey and reach out with its sharp claws. Chorizo suddenly tripped, causing the hawk to miss its meal. Instead, it grabbed the bag Saul gave him, causing all the contents inside to spill out and crash to the ground.

The hawk's talons let go of the empty bag and rose back up to the light blue sky. Chorizo lifted his head from the hard, mixed soil ground and watched as the hawk circled back and cam back for him again. Chorizo quickly got up and began running away from the hawk again, screaming. His poncho flapped behind him and his satchel bumped against his theigh.

He saw a huge jagged cluster of rocks and quickly jumped over them and ducked behind them. The hawk's curved, needle like claws scraped angrily against the rocks and over Chorizo's head as the hawk screeched in rage and pain as it flew back up for the second time. Chorizo sat near the boulders, breathing heavily. His chest was rising and falling fast and his blood was rushing loudly in his ears. He sat there, frozen stiff. The hawk cried again and circled back to him.

Chorizo didnt know what to do. He was trapped! Suddenly, he felt his hand touching something. He looked down and realized he was touching his slingshot, that sat snuglu in the loop of his belt. He quickly pulled it out. The hawk was seen diving back down to the young shrew. Its claws in front of its chest and its; wings opened out at its sides.

Chorizo grabbed a nearby small rock and placed it into the pocket of the slingshot. Then he pulled it back and aimed the weapon at the hawk. Chorizo's arm shook as the bird came zeroing in on him. Chorizo let go of the rock. The rock flew through the air, and smacked the bird right in the chest. The hawk screeched and flapped its wings, causing it to flutter and jerk wildly in mid air.

Chorizo grabbed another rock and shot it at the hawk again. The rock, smacked against the birds face. The hawk screeched a high shrill again and went down. Chorizo grabbed a couple more rocks as he got up and began firing at the bird. Two missed, and the third one finally hit the bird again in the chest.

The hawk screeched again and finally took to the skies and flew away. Chorizo lowered his shaking slingshot down as he watched the hawk fly away from him. He sat down and took a moment to rest after almost being eaten. He felt a sudden pain in his leg. He looked down and noticed that his leg was bleeding. He panicked and used the end of his poncho to cover up the blood.

...

After calming down, Chorizo carefully got up. His leg was still bleeding, but he ripped the end of his pant leg to wrap it around his wounded leg till he found a doctor to treat him. Chorizo walked around the desert and collected most of the items that the hawk dropped.

The guitar had cracked and one part was missing. A string had broke free and curled at the head of the guitar. Chorizo sighed in frustration, but placed it back into the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He found the train tracks again and continued to follow it. He finally made it to the town of El Taco.

The outskirts of the place was pretty shabby looking and mostly looked like it was falling apart. Some of the homes were old taco shells and wooden shacks, while most of them were tents and rubber parts from an old tire. Chorizo walked down the street to the heart of the town, which had better looking homes and stores.

He noticed some people staring at him and walking back into their homes. A couple of little roadrunners sprinted away from him and back to their owner's homes. A baby boar squealed and trotted off to the old barn where it came from.

Chorizo took a deep breath and exhaled and continued walking with his belongings. He walked into a small resturaunt that was an old jug made of pottery with painted flowers on the side and was called _La Flor de Cactus. _

Chorizo walked through the swinging wooden door and stopped. The inside of the place was small, but had seven tables and a couple chairs. An elderly, tall, dark brown owl with an apron tied around his waist stared at Chorizo from the counter he stood behind. His yellow eyes squinted a bit in suspician at the young boy.

Chorizo stared around in the room. The walls were painted in red flowers and had pictures of food. A black cat sat in the corner of the room with his head down on the table, probably drunk. A couple other creatures sat around in the far corners of the room at the tables, giving Chorizo a look before going back to their food.

In the far part of the room were a bunch of wooden stairs as they went up into the room above, most likely the owner's room. Chorizo jumped when he heard the old owls voice. "You need something?" the owner asked. Chorizo stared at the old owl before shyly coming up to the counter. He fumbled with the bag in his hands as he tried asking the owner of the place what he wanted.

"Um...n-no er- s-s-si..." stuttered Chorizo. The old owl studied Chorizo, then his eyes flickered down to his legs. "What happened?" he asked, pointing to Chorizo's leg. Chorizo looked down at his wrapped up leg. Blood trickled down and began to form a puddle. "I...I...g-got attacked...b-by a h-hawk," Chorizo answered quietly as he went down and tried cleaning up the blood.

A couple heads turned from the tables. They saw the red scratches on the poor boy's shoulders and leg. Their eyes widened a bit in surprise. The young boy actually encountered the hawk outside of town, and lived to tell the tale.

"Come over here," said the old owl as he got a white rag and pulled out a box of items. Chorizo hobbled over to the counter and sat at one of the wooden stools. The owner got out a bottle of liquid and poured a couple drops into the folded rag. "Place this over it," he instructed. Chorizo did as he was told and covered the wound. He winced from the small sharp sting. The owl then came around and began wrapping the boy's leg.

"Must have been pretty brave to actually go against that hawk," said the owner as he looked up at Chorizo. "Whas' yer name boy?" asked the owner. "Ch-Chorizo," answered Chorizo. The owner nodded. "Got any parents, Chorizo?" he asked. Chorizo hesitated before shaking his head. "Not anymore," he answered. Chorizo turned when he heard the loegs of a wooden chair scrape against the ground. He turned back to the owner after he was done wrapping his leg.

Chorizo lowered the leg and nodded his head. "Gracias," he said. The owner nodded and went behind the counter. "You hungry, Chorizo?" asked the owner. Chorizo nodded. The owner smiled a small smile. "What would you like?" he asked. Chorizo was about to answer, but stopped when he realized that he had no money.

"I-I have no money." The owner waved it off. "It's on the house. After you telling me about facing that hawk, you deserve a plate of food. No one ever makes it out alive without losing a limb or two...or even a life," the owner added before turning around. Chorizo flinched in the stool he sat on.

When the owner prepared him a plate of food, he picked up a fork and dug in. He ate a couple bites before thanking the owner and eating some more. When the owner turned back to the small kitchen, Chorizo stopped eating and looked up at the owner.

"D-did you know any-anyone by th-the name of Edwardo C-Carnicero?" he asked. The old owl turned around and stared at the young shrew for a minute before shaking his head. "Nope, can't say I do," he answered. Chorizo's shoulders went down in disappointment. "Oh...ok," said Chorizo as he lowered his head back down to his food.

"Edward? Did ya say Edward?" asked a voice behind him. Chorizo turned, just as the disshevelled black cat who he thought was drunk sat down at the stool next to him and placed his arms on the counter. "I knew an Edward Carnicero," repeated the black cat as he revealed his sharp, jagged yellow teeth.

Chorizo flinched at the black cat. His stringy long black hair fell over parts of his face. He had a visible scar that ran down one of his piercing green eyes and a cut on his upper lip. He wore an old tattered black hat with bullet holes around the wide brim. He also wore a raggedy old black trench coat and dirty black boots. The cat grinned from one pointy sharp ear to the next as he thrusted his hand out to Chorizo to shake.

"Name's Butch," said Butch. Chorizo shook the cat's hand. "Ch-Chorizo," he said. Butch grinned again. "Yeah, yer Ed's younger brother, right?" he asked. Chorizo nodded. "I-is he around?" Chorizo asked. Butch shook his head. "Sadly, no; but I do know where you could find him," Butch said.

Chorizo's eyes flickered over to the owner of the resturaunt and noticed a small, concerned look in his face. Something didnt seem right to him. He didnt seem to trust this man who he barely knew. Butch waved his hand at Chorizo's face to stop looking at the old owl and to look at him. "So, what do ya say? You want me to take you to where yer brother is?" he asked.

Chorizo thought about it for a minute, then nodded his head. Butch grinned again and shook Chorizo's hand again. "Good," he said. With that, Butch got up, while taking the plate of food Chorizo was given, with him. Chorizo got up and followed after the black cat. Chorizo looked back one last time to the men and the owner in the La Flor de Cactus one last time before going through the swinging wooden door and out into the sunlight.

Butch picked a piece of meat from the plate before handing the food back to Chorizo. He chewed the piece of meat in his mouth as he strolled along the street of the town. Chorizo ate from his plate while staring up at Butch. "So, wh-where exactly are we going to be heading?" he asked. Butch swallowed the piece of meat before glancing back over to Chorizo.

"You'll see...you'll see," said Butch as they walked up to an old, wooden, box- like carriage with a dirty white cover over the top. Butch opened the back of the door for Chorizo to step inside of. "Go right inside, boy," said Butch. Chorizo looked in and noticed two boys already sitting inside the back of the carriage.

They were dirty and wore potato sacks for clothing and had iron shackles that bound their wrists and legs. They were prisoners. Chorizo's eyes widened in horror and was about to run, but Butch grabbed him by the back of his poncho and chucked him inside. Chorizo yelped as he somersaulted inside.

Chorizo smacked into the chained up boys and fell on his back. He got up and rubbed the back of his head. Suddenly, the carriage door closed and Chorizo could hear Butch laughing his head off outside of the carriage. Chorizo tried running to the small windows, but they were barred up with black iron bars.

Chorizo kicked and screamed for Butch to let him go. "Butch! what are you doing?! you said you were gonna take me to my brother!" shouted Chorizo. Butch turned his head to the carriage. "You never said _how _you wanted to be taken to see your brother, and I'm still keeping my promise, you'll be seeing your brother," he said with a grin as he whipped the reins.

The two black roadrunners woke up from their nap and quickly galloped out of town. Chorizo kicked the door and shouted things at Butch to let him go, but Butch ignored him. Finally, he collapsed down into a curled up ball and began to cry.


	9. Chapter 9

...

The sun baked the desert in the middle of the sky. Butch held the old, leather reins connected to the two roadrunners as they pulled the wagon that held Chorizo and two boys prisoner. Chorizo continued to stay in a curled up protected ball and cried. He wished he stayed in La Luz with Saul and Enrika.

He took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled slowly as he pulled his poncho around him. It made him feel protected. He wiped the bitter tears away angrily with the back of his arm and listened to the sounds of the roadrunners' quick footsteps as they pulled the rickety wooden wagon.

Chorizo opened his eyes when he heard a sniffle and a whimper from behind him. He lifted his head up and turned to the two chained up boys. One of the boys, a black bird, was crying, while the other one, a light red-brown fox with thick reddish hair was trying to comfort him. Chorizo slowly sat upright and turned to fully face them.

The two stopped and stared at the shrew who was about the same age as them, possibly a little older. Chorizo finally spoke. "Butch took you guys too, huh?" he asked. The black crow stared at him blankly. The fox looked at his friend before turning back to Chorizo. "Little Storm doesn't understand your language. I know some Espanol," answered the fox.

Chorizo looked over to the black bird named Little Storm, then back to the fox. The fox wore brown pants with a frayed edge and strange brown shoes with colorful beads on them. Little Storm wore a couple beaded necklaces and a black, blue and white striped poncho around him. His eyes were storm colored and they were big and full of fear.

"What is your name?" asked the fox. Chorizo looked back up to the fox boy, "Chorizo," he said. The fox boy nodded his head. "My name is Painted Sunset. That's what Little Storm's tribe calls me. They found me alone when I was little and took me in," Painted Sunset answered as he looked over to his friend and smiled. He spoke in a strange language to the black crow. Little Storm slowly nodded his head as he looked over to Chorizo. He muttered something, and Painted Sunset gave his friend a look.

"What did he say?" asked Chorizo. Sunset turned back to the shrew and sighed. "Forgive my brother, he is just scared. Your eyes are red with rage, like a red eyed beast or devil," said the fox. Chorizo averted his eyes downward so the two boys wouldn't see them. He had his father's eyes. He couldnt do anything about it, everytime he got angry or upset, they would change to red.

The boys were quiet for a while. Chorizo turned around, facing away from the two boys and rubbing his fingers over the old poncho around him. He closed his eyes and thought of home...

...

A couple days passed in the wagon as the boys began to learn a little bit more about each other. Little Storm continued to not look at Chorizo, even though his eyes had changed back to their mustard yellow color. Painted Sunset had a hard time trying to remember some Spanish words to explain to Chorizo what he was talking about. Chorizo would smile and say that it was all right.

Sunset sighed and decided to change the subject. "What is your story, Chorizo?" he asked in Spanish. Chorizo looked back up to Sunset. "I am trying to find my brother, Edwardo Carnicero. He ran away when I was little...I never knew him; so I decided to run away from home to find him," Chorizo said. Sunset nodded, but Little Storm wanted to know what Chorizo said so Sunset translated.

Chorizo stared at Little Storm, who kept his eyes on his adopted brother. Chorizo could see that his grey colored eyes changing in different shades of grey like a storm. Chorizo lowered his head down at the wooden boards. Just then, Little Storm said something in his direction. Chorizo looked up, but only to the black bird's poncho.

"What did he say?" asked Chorizo. Sunset didnt say anything as he stared at Little Storm. Chorizo finally lifted his eyes up to Little Storm, who stared back, but was as still as a statue. "What did you say?" Chorizo asked. Sunset gave Little Storm a look before turning to Chorizo.

"He says that Red Eyed Devil will find brother very soon," he said. Chorizo blinked, then looked over to Little Storm. Red Eyed Devil. Sunset winced, feeling bad for repeating what his brother called Chorizo. "I'm really sorry, he's-" "It's fine," said Chorizo, as his eyes lowered. As he did, he couldnt help but stare at the iron shackles that were bound to the boys' hands and feet with chains.

"Why are you two chained up?" he asked. Painted Sunset's face changed as he looked down, his curly reddish brown hair covered his gold-orange eyes. "Mr. Butch got tired of us escaping his wagon...he says he is taking us to a place called..." Sunset's voice faltered as he tried remembering the name to the place.

"Que?" asked Chorizo. Sunset shook his head. "I dont remember the name...it was a weird name..." Chorizo stared at the two boys. He felt bad for them. Captured and taken away from their family with no choice...

"How did Butch capture you?" he asked. Sunset looked over to Little Rock and sighed. "We went with the hunters of our tribe because we were old enough to hunt with them...we got lost and night came...Butch found us in the woods and threw nets over us...forcing us to leave our friends and family..." Sunset lowered his head, then he curled his hands into fists and started to beat himself as he screamed angrily.

Little Rock noticed Sunset hurting himself and tried stopping him. "Shut it back there!" shouted Butch from the front. The two boys stopped went quiet. Sunset glared at where Butch was seated and pulled at the chains tightly. Then they relaxed and he laid down. Little Storm laid down with him.

Later on, the two boys fell asleep. Chorizo stared down at them as they slept with their shackles that kept them attached to the wagon. Chorizo felt horrible. They were in worse condition then he was. Chorizo's ears went down as he rubbed the poncho around him again.

...

The day wore on till it was night. "Gotchya little brats some dinner," Butch said as he tossed a bag of bread and a canteen of water into the wagon and locked the door. Painted Sunset and Little Storm grabbed the bag of bread and ate. Chorizo ate from his bag of goods. He had tried offering his food to the boys, but they wouldnt take any.

As he was chewing on a root, his fingers found the broken guitar Saul gave him. He pulled it out and sighed in frustration. He stared down at it and ran his fingers over the cracked wooden surface. Little Rock looked up and noticed the broken guitar. He looked over to Painted Sunset and said something.

Painted Sunset looked over to Chorizo and the guitar before talking back to his brother. The two seemed to be fighting in a low tone about something. Chorizo stared at them till Sunset finally gave up and turned to the shrew.

"My brother would like to know if you can play," he said, pointing to the guitar. Chorizo nodded his head. "I can...but not this one...it's broken," he said. Sunset was about to translate to Little Rock but Little Rock ignored him as he motioned his hand for Chorizo to come where he was. Chorizo got up with the guitar in his hands and sat back down to where the two indian boys were. Little Storm took the guitar and examined it.

"_Roto,"_ said Chorizo in Spanish. Little Storm didnt look up. Instead, he pulled the strings back down and into place and tightened them. Chorizo watched with amazement as Little Storm grabbed a small pouch hanging from his waist and pulled a strange item from it and began to run it along the jagged areas where the guitar pieces broke and pieced them together. The pieces stayed after Little Storm connected them together and gave it back to Chorizo.

Chorizo strummed the guitar. Chorizo grinned. It sounded good hearing a guitar again. Painted Sunset and Little Storm grinned and listened as Chorizo began to play a song Alonzo taught him back home. He messed up once, but Painted Sunset and Little Storm didnt mind as they listened to the music.

After the song was over, Chorizo thanked Little Storm. Little Storm nodded his head and said something. Sunset translated for him. "Red Eyed Devil has the great gift of music," said Sunset. Chorizo smiled and nodded his head. "I could teach you how to play," Chorizo offered. Sunset told Little Storm what Chorizo said and Little Storm smiled shyly and nodded his head.

Painted Sunset yawned and rubbed the side of his head. "That will have to wait till tomorrow," he said. Chorizo yawned as well and decided that it was best for them all to sleep. Chorizo laid down near the boys and they both fell asleep to the gentle rock of the wagon.

...

A week and a half passed. Chorizo and Little Storm gradually began to become great companions. Little Storm continued to call Chorizo 'Red- Eyed Devil,' but Chorizo didnt mind, he was just happy that Little Storm liked him now, and he was able to teach someone how to play a guitar. Teaching someone who was shackled down was a bit challenging though, but Chorizo was able to teach Little Storm five notes to a song he knew.

Sunset clapped his hands and smiled when his black crow brother was able to play the five notes with ease. He congradulated his brother. Little Storm smiled and nodded his head as a silent thanks to Chorizo. Chorizo grinned and nodded his head back. The sun was beginning to set outside the barred up wagon, but the boys didnt seem to notice, and also didnt seem to notice that they had just entered into a narrow canyon.

Just then, the wagon stopped, and the three boys went quiet. Butch's footsteps were heard as he jumped off the front of the wagon and went around to the back of it and unlocked the door. He flung it open and grinned at the three boys with his messed up teeth. He held a gun pointed at the two indian boys.

"Time to git out. We're here," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

...

"Wh-where are we?" asked Sunset. Butch grinned and pointed to outside of the wagon. A wooden sign was seen near an entrance of a huge cave in the canyon: _Perro Diablo Canyon_. Near the sign, above it, was a banner reading: _El Mercado de Esclavos._

Chorizo gasped when he read the banner and turned to his new friends. Sunset and Little Storm turned to him nervously. "Wh-what? What does the b-banner say?" asked Sunset in a shaky voice.

Butch didnt let Chorizo answer as he unlocked the shackles from the boys' wrists. "We don't have time for translations, we need to go!" Butch snarled as he pulled the boys roughly by the collars. Little Storm turned to Chorizo as he was being pulled out. In quick movements, he ripped off a necklace with a long arrowhead on it, and tossed it to Chorizo.

Chorizo watched the necklace clatter toward him before looking back up to his friends. "No!" Chorizo yelled as he approached Butch and the indian boys. Butch smacked Chorizo in the face with his gun. Chorizo screamed in pain and fell backwards in the wagon.

"You stay put! I'll be back after I sell these boys off!" Butch shouted. With that, He slammed the back of the wagon door and locked it. Chorizo's arms shook as he tried lifting his upper body up. His left eye was twitching and blood was dribbling out of the corners of his mouth.

He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand before getting up and slowly walking up to the door. He went up on his tiptoes as he peered out of the iron bars on the window and watched as Butch pulled the two boys into the huge cave where other creatures in nice, clean clothes were walking in as well.

Chorizo gripped the bars and tried breaking them. They wouldnt budge. He needed to help his friends, but how? Chorizo kicked the door in frustration and tried slamming his shoulder a couple times, but it didnt help either. Chorizo felt his throat starting to tighten and tears form in his eyes as he desperately tried everything. He went back to his satchel and rummaged through it to find anything that could help him get out.

Nothing.

He sighed loudly in frustration and stomped his foot down. Suddenly, he realized that the boards sounded loose. He looked down at the boards and realized that they were poorly nailed down. Chorizo remembered how Sunset and Little Storm told him how they constantly tried escaping Butch's wagon, but always got caught and were eventaully chained down. They must have figured out a way to pry the boards up and to escape that way.

Chorizo used his nails to pry one of the boards up. The board wouldnt give up to him that easily. Chorizo growled angrily and tried another. The other one wouldnt let up either. Chorizo sat down and glared at the boards. _How did Painted Sunset and Little Storm pry the boards up?!_ Chorizo asked himself.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered to the necklace Little Storm tossed him. He almost forgot all about it. He had no idea why the boy tossed him his necklace in the first place. Possibly to hold onto it for him. Chorizo picked it up and examined it closely. The arrowhead was made of a strange black stone, and glinted in the striped sunlight coming through the bars.

He ran his thumb over the surface, and downward to the sharp tip. The tip had strange grooves at the edges. Chorizo blinked when he noticed something and looked closer. The tip looked like it had been used, because of the grooves. Chorizo turned his head to the boards.

_Was that how they got out? Using an arrowhead as their lever? _Chorizo thought. He went over to the boards and tried again. This time, he wedged the arrowhead into the bottom of the board, and pushed down on the other end of the long arrowhead. The board came up. The nails groaned as they were ripped out from their places, loosening it.

Chorizo placed his fingers underneath the gap, and pried up the rest of the board himself. The board gave in and left a small gap. Chorizo grinned. Then he continued the process till he was able to make the gap big enough for him to fit through. When he was done, he grabbed his slingshot, and placed the necklace over his neck before jumping through the gap and going off through the canyon to where his friends were taken.

...

Chorizo made his way through the entrance and walked along the walls of the tunnel. The tunnel opened up into a huge room with crowds of people. There were a bunch of raised rocks where a lot of traders in long, tattered trenchcoats were standing on and talking above the crowds.

Behind them were sad creatures, lined up, facing the crowd with ropes binding their wrists together. Chorizo's eyes widened at the sight. It was an illegal slave market! This was where all the traders around the area come and sell off people!

Chorizo's eyes flickered around the huge place. It almost looked like an individual market, where the traders tried to persuae the crowds to come to where they were and sell them their captured slaves.

Suddenly, Chorizo felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. He turned around and found himself face to face with a huge, burly wolf like creature in a dirty white shirt and black jeans. His hair was dark brown with hints of grey and was tangled and wirey.

"Where the hell did you come from? You belong to anyone?" He asked in a gruff voice. Chorizo didnt answer as he moved out of the man's grasp and bolted through the crowds. "Hey!" yelled the dark brown wolf as he chased after the boy, but the bustling, tight crowds slowed him down. Chorizo weaved through the legs of every buyer in the place and made his way to where he saw Butch with his friends.

...

_Butch made it to his already prepared stand with a sign saying: Butch's rare slaves, and placed the boys in front of it so he could get ready to sell them. As Butch was getting ready, two slave traders came by to his stand and leaned against the supports holding up the awning._

_"Hey there, Butch. Find any good ones?" one of them asked. Butch glared at them and continued working. The two slave traders came around and looked at the two indian boys. "More kids? Come on Butch. What is up with you trying to sell kids? they are small and scrawy," said the other as he touched Sunset's ear. Butch slapped the slave trader's hand away and tied the rope down for the awning and went over to check inside his boxes._

_The first one continued. "You need to come with us overseas and go get those adults who live in those other continents. Those alone could make you afford a feast! and you could stop trying to survive off of selling children-" Butch whipped around and threw two knives at the slave traders. The first one yelped as the knive whizzed past his ears. The next knife nearly grazed the hair on the other one's head. The two stumbled away from the enraged black cat._

_"I sell kids. That's what I do. If you guys have a problem, then go shove a pole up yer asses!" snarled Butch. "And next time, I wont miss your faces," he threatened. The two looked over at the knives that Butch threw at them. They were stuck right in the wooden support holding up the awning, more then halfway through._

_The two took a couple steps away from Butch before disappearing through the crowd. Butch sighed angrily and turned his head to Sunset and Little Storm. "What are you two looking at?!" he shouted. The two quickly looked away and stood next to eachother as people began to come over to where Butch's stand was and examine the two indian boys._

...

Chorizo lost the wolf and began to slow down through the people. Each way he looked, was a place of a slave trader, trying to sell adults from different places. Most of them looked very strange and bizarre that Chorizo had never seen anything like them before. Most of them were hyenas, and others were colorful birds, and they all wore tattered shawls or strange pieces of jewelery like what Little Storm wore.

Finally, Chorizo found the stand he was looking for. Standing up on a wooden platform, was Butch, and on a shorter platform, were Sunset and Little Storm. Butch gathered a crowd as he yelled about his rare findings of indian boys from the mountains and how well they were of use. "They are great for scouting ahead for anything! And they can track down any outlaw in the land!" Butch shouted to his small crowd of people.

"Beg your pardon, son, me and my friend would like to get through," said a man in a strange language Chorizo didnt understand. Chorizo turned and watched as a dark colored wolf in a black coat and black top hat pass by him and was accompanied by a cougar. Chorizo blinked at the strange pair of people as they went through the crowd to the front and stared up at his friends.

Chorizo narrowed his eyes at the strange wolf and the crowd. He didnt want anyone to buy his friends. He wanted them to be free, as well as everyone else, but first, he had to figure out how to save Sunset and Little Storm.

Chorizo turned around and noticed above in the wall was a hole. He stared up at it. It was a perfect place to go up and to look down upon the market, but how was he to get up there? His eyes trailed down and he noticed a tunnel. Chorizo smiled a small smile and ran into the tunnel and found that it twisted up to the top where the small opening was.

Chorizo laid down on his belly as he crawled through and looked out over the slave market. Across from him, was Butch's stand. Perfet. Chorizo pulled out his slingshot and collected a couple small rocks around him. He grinned as he placed a rock into the leather pocket, stretched it back, and aimed it at Butch...

...

_"Hugo, what is the gentleman saying?" asked the wolf in the black top hat. The cougar, named Hugo, turned to the wolf and translated for him. "The cat says that these boys are good use for scouting, hunting, and sniffing out outlaws around the area," said Hugo in a gruff voice. The wolf grinned. "Brilliant! They sound like very interesting lads. How much is he asking for them?" asked the wolf. The cougar gave the wolf a look._

_"Barnum. We dont have any money to buy any more entertainers; and besides, we need to figure out how to fix our ship," pointed out Hugo. The wolf, named Barnum, sighed in disappointment. "You take the fun out of everything...Why cant we just go around and enjoy ourselves? We lost everything in that storm...except for our hunchback boy...Let me forget that our beautiful princess of the sea is gone, and let me enjoy my time here," said Barnum angrily and began to leave. __Hugo sighed and followed after him._

_After the two left, the others murmured amongst themselves as they decided on whether taking Butch's word and possibly trying to bargain with him. Butch stared down at the crowd, getting impatient. "Come on! Deal of a life time! They are good, strong boys! Unlike those old, bacteria infested slaves over there with the equally disgusting bastards selling them," growled Butch as he glared at the two he talked to earlier._

_Suddenly, Butch's thoughts were interrupted when he felt something smack him in the face. He screamed and fell backwards, but regained his balance. His hands went up to his face was blood poured out of where he was hit. The crowd gasped and began to move away. _

_Butch stared down at his hands as they cupped a small amount of blood. It seeped through his fingers as he stared down in shock. Then he noticed an object form in the blood. He felt it through the red thickness. It was a rock. He got hit by a rock. Butch narrowed his eyes and looked around. "Who threw this?!" he shouted as he raised the rock high over his head. No one answered as they began to leave the bleeding cat's stand. _

_"Who-?!" suddenly, another rock smacked Butch in the face. The crowd jumped from Butch's screams and scattered. Everyone became concern with what was happening and began to leave. "Wait! Wait! Where are you going? Come b-" screamed Butch as two more rocks were smacked right into his arm and face. _

_Butch screamed and ran for cover. Sunset and Little Storm watched as Butch hid, while they stood, unsure what to do. The crowds began to leave out of the slave market and back to their wagons and carriges and leaving. The traders began to get nervous, but a couple realized what was going on and noticed Chorizo above the market and was slingshooting at Butch. _

...

Chorizo watched as the place began to empty and waved his hand to Sunset and Little Storm. They noticed Chorizo and gasped in shock. "Chorizo!" said Sunset. "Go! Run! get away from here!" Chorizo said to them. They hesitated. Chorizo moved his hands. "Go! Run back home!" he said.

"Wh-what about you?" Sunset asked. Chorizo continued to move his hands. "I'll meet up with you guys, just go!" he said in a firm voice. The boys finally snapped out of their state and ran through a tunnel in the canyon's twisted caves and tunnels. Chorizo lowered his hands and sighed as he crawled back the way he came and stood up.

Suddenly, he felt rough hands grab him and ropes wrap around his body and bind his wrists. Chorizo fought against them, but they were too strong. "Stupid brat. What the hell you think you were doing?!" asked the huge wolf that chased him earlier. Chorizo didnt answer as he looked away.

The slave traders glared down at the trouble maker. "Where did he come from? Is he any of yours?" asked one of them. The others shook their heads. "Has to be one of Butch's. Butch is the only one here who sells kids," said another. With that, they began to push him out of the sloping tunnel.

Chorizo kicked and screamed, but the slave traders wouldnt let him win as they roughly pulled him out of the tunnel and back to the market. Butch came out with his hand covering his bloody face as he glared at Chorizo.

"You bastard!" he shouted as he took his hand back and smacked Chorizo. Chorizo fell backwards and to the ground. Blood was seen on his head, and oozing out of his nose. Butch roughly picked him up and was about to hit him again when a voice was heard.

"Hold on Butch! Dont start beating that boy," said a loud voice. The slave traders moved out of the way as a huge light brown mexican squirrel came through and stopped in front of Butch and Chorizo. The squirrel was very big, and wore a white suit and had a cigar in his mouth.

Butch's eyes widened as he let go of Chorizo and removed his hand from his bleeding face. "S-senor Elfonzo..." Butch breathed in shock. Mr. Elfonzo nodded his head, "Butch," he answered back. Butch stared at the big squirrel as if he grew three heads. "I...I never thought I would see you h-here...senor..." Butch admitted. Mr. Elfonzo snorted.

"You've known me for a while, Butch...why wouldnt I be here?" He asked as he turned his eyes to Chorizo. "Now, who is this young nino?" He asked. Chorizo could feel Butch glaring down at him from behind his head as he stared up at the rich squirrel in white. "M-my n-name is Ch-Chorizo...s-senor...Ch-Chorizo...C-Carnicero," Chorizo said. Mr. Elfonzo jerked his head back in shock to the words Chorizo just said.

"Carnicero? Like Edwardo Carnicero?" Mr. Elfonzo asked. Chorizo's eyes widened. "S-si! Th-thats my brother," he said. Butch was about to say something, but Mr. Elfonzo yelled for him to shut up and to fix up his face. Butch closed his mouth and covered it up with his sleeve to stop the blood.

After that, Mr. Elfonzo stared down at Chorizo. "You say that you are Edwardo's younger brother?" he asked him. Chorizo slowly nodded his head. "S-si, senor," he stuttered. Mr. Elfonzo grunted. He placed the cigar in his mouth and continued to stare at the boy.

Then he grabbed Chorizo and began inspecting him. He looked in his ears, opened his mouth to see his teeth, and ruffled his hair a bit. After the little inspection, Mr. Elfonzo took out the cigar from his mouth and turned to Butch.

"How much you askin' for him, Butch?" he asked. Butch's eyes flickered down to Chorizo. He narrowed them, but Chorizo could see mischief behind them. A creepy smile appear behind his bleeding sleeve. "Oh...I dunno...he's in pretty good shape...and is pretty young...but for you...let's say...nine hundred?" he asked. Mr. Elfonzo gapped at the black mangy cat. "What?!" he screamed. Butch held his hands up.

"I gave Edwardo to ya who was more then that! Speakin' of which, how is the _nino_?" he asked. Chorizo's ears perked up to the mention of his older brother's name again. Elfonzo sighed and rubbed the side of his face. "Edwardo is being...difficult at the moment...he's been difficult to me ever since I bought him from you..." Mr. Elfonzo said and narrowed his eyes at Butch. Butch quickly looked away. Mr. Elfonzo continued. "Hopefully this little runt isn't the same," he said, narrowing his eyes. Butch shook his head and looked back up.

"No, he actually did very well when we were coming here. Made friends with the indian boys I found up in the mountains," said Butch truthfully, though completely pretending what Chorizo did to him never happened. Mr. Elfonzo's eyes trailed up and down Chorizo; Inspecting him one last time before finally making up his descision. "Allrigh' you convinced me. I'll take him," he declared. Butch grinned with blood dribbling from his mouth.

Chorizo watched as Mr. Elfonzo pulled out a leather wallet and began to flick out green bills. He handed nine of them to Butch. Butch tipped his hat to Mr. Elfonzo after snatching the money.

"Pleasure doin' business with you senor," he said grinning wickedly at the money. With that, Mr. Elonzo snapped his ringed fingers and two burly cougars in black suits came up from behind Chorizo and grabbed his arms. Chorizo struggled with the men, but they were too strong as they carried him away. Butch waved goodbye to Chorizo before heading back into his wagon and taking off. Mr. Elfonzo followed after his men and Chorizo out of the canyon and to outside where a carriage waited.

The carriage was black, but was drawn by pure white roadrunners with new, leather harnesses. The men tossed Chorizo in the back, and closed the door behind him. Chorizo groaned softly as he struggled in the ropes to lift his upper body up. His head was throbbing in pain.

His poncho was wrapped around him as well in the ropes and didnt really feel comfortable against him. Chorizo felt the carriage go down as Mr. Elfonzo got in. A small criss crossed metal window was seen in front of Chorizo and Mr. Elfonzo's face appeared.

"Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride, Senor Carnicero. We will be arriving my home shortly," he said as he turned back and the carriage jolted forward. Chorizo balanced himself and looked out the barred windows as the carriage moved away from the slave canyon.


	11. Chapter 11

...

Chorizo fell over on his side when the wagon went over a big rock. He groaned in pain and decided to just lay there, tied up, till they finally made it to their destination. He sighed as he thought of Painted Sunset and Little Storm, hoping that they did make it out of the Slave Market without getting caught.

The wagon bean to turn slightly as it went around a very tall cactus that blocked out the sun for a couple seconds, then the sun came back through the barred window, blinding Chorizo. Chorizo squinted from the bright light and moved away from the pool of sunlight in the middle of the wooden wagon and stayed in the cool shadows in the corners.

The front wagon began to tilt upward, making Chorizo roll to the back. He sighed and just laid there. They were going up a hill. Chorizo had no idea where the wagon was taking him, but he didnt care. He wanted to know if his brother would remember him, or even recognize him, even after thirteen years. Chorizo sighed and rested his head down on the ground and closed his eyes.

_I'll just have to wait and find out..._

...

A couple hours passed and the sun began to dip low, creating a deep red across the cold sky. The wagon evened out and continued to move."We're almost there, Carnicero," said Mr. Elfonzo as he turned his head slightly to Chorizo. Chorizo opened his eyes and stared up and the dark figure behind the metal bars as the wagon continued to jolt and move.

A couple minutes later, the wagon stopped. Chorizo forced himself upright, just as Mr. Elfonzo's men opened the back of the carriage and pulled him out and to his feet. Chorizo looked up at where they were. They were on even ground, but higher above then where they originally were, and looked out over the desert land as the sun began to set behind the far-away mountains.

Chorizo didnt have time to admire the view as he was roughly pushed around the wagon and faced a huge piece of farm land, and a big old wooden barn that needed some paint in the distance. "Welcome to my ranch, Carnicero," said Mr. Elfonzo. Chorizo didnt hear him as he continued to stare at the old barn. It looked very creepy, and very unwelcoming.

"You'll see your brother in a minute, but right now, I'm going to hand you over to my good friend, senor Romero. He is in charge of you and the others when I'm not around, so you better listen to him. He will show you around," he said, just as a short pale white colored jackrabbit came over and stared at Chorizo.

He had an eye patch over one eye and wore grey coveralls and dirty, dark brown work gloves. His hair was grey as well and his ears looked like they got bitten and had some flesh missing. Chorizo looked when he noticed Romero staring at him.

Romero sneered as he flicked out a knife. Chorizo flinched when he saw the glint and froze as he squeezed his eyes shut. Instead of hearing his throat being sliced, he heard the sound of ropes being cut and falling limply to the ground. Chorizo opened his eyes. He sighed in relief, but found that his wrists were still bound.

"Le's go, nino," said Romero as he grabbed the other end of the rope and tugged Chorizo along like a puppy. Chorizo turned his head one last time to Mr. Elfonzo. Mr. Elfonzo stood near the wagon with his black suit wearing goons and waved a small wave goodbye before placing the cigar back into his mouth.

Chorizo felt a tug on the rope, and turned back as Romero showed him around the place. The ranch was very big, and had a lot of land.

The two creatures passed by Mr. Elfonzo's house. It was a mini mansion. A two story house with bright red brickwork and freshly painted white trim all around. A mini cacti garden was seen around the clean pathway that led up to the big, red door of the house.

They continued on toward the fields. "This is where you'll be working. You'll get up at six in the morning, eat lunch at noon, and go to bed at ten," said Romero as he unlocked the barbed wire fence and stepped inside. The fields were surrounded by the eight foot tall, barbed wire fences, and there were huge men in black with rifles in their arms near it.

"...If you even think about escapin' this place, those men will shoot you till yer dead...so I suggest pushing any thoughts on leavin' this place," said Romero bitterly. Chorizo felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at the professional gun men and looked away nervously. He continued to follow after Romero. He looked out over to the fields.

Some of the slaves, were still out working in the fields. They were either plowing or harvesting. A couple looked up and stared at Chorizo. They were strange looking, and most of them were adults; but the strangest thing that Chorizo noticed, were the little tags on their right ears. Chorizo averted his eyes away and continued to follow Romero. The young shrew and old jackrabbit cut across one of the fields, where a dirt pathway was.

They made it across and walked along a pathway that had a string of little houses where the slaves lived. The houses were small, and shabby looking. They were worn down from the storms and the rains that came. Some had opened areas as windows, but were covered up by old clothing, and fabrics. A couple young kids were playing in the middle of the pathway, but stopped when they noticed Romero and Chorizo coming, and quickly dashed behind their houses before Romero could grab them by their little tails.

"Damn meerkats," Romero muttered and continued walking. Chorizo stared at the little faces in the tall grass as he passed by. Meerkats. He had never seen anything like them before, and he was certain they had never seen anything like _him_ before.

They passed by the slaves' shabby old houses, and then the stables where the roadrunners, goats, and javelinas stayed. They even passed by the little outhouse, that seemed to be having difficulties at the moment.

As they were walking along the narrow pathway, Chorizo noticed the old barn in the corner of the land. It was the furthest thing away from everything, and seemed to hide in the shadows as the remaining sunlight slowly crawled off the ranch. Chorizo turned his head back to Romero. "Wh-what's the old barn?" he asked. Romero stopped and turned his head to Chorizo. Chorizo flinched at Romero's creepy glare.

"You mind yer own damn business, nino. You dont need to care on what goes on in that barn...stay away from it. Got it?" snarled Romero. Chorizo nodded his head rapidly. "S-si senor," said Chorizo. Romero grunted something insulting and continued walking. Chorizo walked behind him.

When they got to the end of the slave houses, Romero stopped and turned to Chorizo. "Now the tour is done. Time to give you yer tag," he said. Chorizo remembered back to when he saw all the slaves wearing the strange tags. He began to panic and started to walk backwards. Romero growled angrily and pulled the end of the rope, making Chorizo jerk forward.

"Dont make this hard, nino. You need to have it," he said. With that, Chorizo was pulled into a small house, far away from the slave houses and Mr. Elfonzo. Chorizo struggled, but it was no use as he was pulled into Romero's house. Mr. Romero's house had a few rooms, and was very messy.

There were loose papers everywhere and old books of places from around the world and strange hanging charms of good luck all hanging from all the doorways of each room. Romero pulled Chorizo into another room where a small table waited. A sharp metal rod, a hammer, a tag with a couple numbers on it, and a lot of white towels waited for him. Chorizo struggled some more, but Romero wouldnt let go.

He made Chorizo place his head on the table with one hand while he grabbed the hammer and metal rod with the other. Romero sighed and stared down at the tools in his hands. "I wish we had better tools, but its all that we have...so, just close your eyes and think of happy thoughts," Romero instructed...

...

It was dark by the time they walked out of the house. The mountains glowed a dull orange as the stars began to appear in the black night. Fireflies flickered in the tall green grass as Chorizo and Romero walked down the wooden steps into the cold night and down the dirt pathway.

Chorizo couldnt help but groan in pain as he was led back to the slave village. The lights were on in a couple little houses as Romero and Chorizo walked down the dirt path to one house where the kids were playing earlier. Romero nodded his head to the house when they stopped in front of it.

"There's your new home. Get some sleep. You'll be workin' first thing in the mornin'," Romero said. Chorizo nodded his head slightly as he looked away from Romero. Romero narrowed his eyes. "And stop rubbing. You'll just make it worse for yerself," he said. With that, Romero turned and walked away back the way to his house in the darkness.

Chorizo sighed as he removed his bloody hand from his sore ear and looked up at the small, thatched roof house that was now his new home. He wondered if his new "family" would be nice. Would they beat him? Would they be like his papa? Chorizo shook his head.

_No. Dont think about him. He doesnt exist, _Chorizo thought, but he couldnt help thinking about his mama, and Isabella, and Nico. They were his family. Chorizo wrapped his arms around his stomach. He began to wish that he never left them...

Suddenly, the young shrews thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and a bright, warm yellow light spilled out from inside. A female meerkat, well into her thirties, stood there in a light brown dress with an apron tied around it and a wooden spoon in her hand. Her light cream colored hair was tied up in a bun, but little strands were down near her little dark brown ears. She stared down at the young shrew through oval glasses.

"I knew I heard something out 'ere. Who are you, young one? Why you out in the cold?" she asked Chorizo. Chorizo stared up at the lady. He fumbled nervously with his hands and his mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. The female meerkat spoke in broken Spanish, and she had a thick, African accent, so it was hard for him to understand. The meerkat blinked and waited for him to answer.

Suddenly, another meerkat appeared. It was a male. He had broad shoulders, dark, wavy hair, and dirty brown shirt and jeans. "What is it, Nula? What is wrong?" asked the male meerkat as he came up from behind the female meerkat. He also had a thick accent. Nula continued to stare at Chorizo. "I found this boy out here in front of our house. He was about to tell me who he was...si? decir el nombre?" she sasked. The male stared at Chorizo.

Chorizo began to shift nervously. "M-mi nombre e-es Ch-Chorizo," he stuttered. The meerkats exchanged glances before turning back to him. "Chorizo?" they asked. Chorizo nodded nervously. Nula seemed to smile a small smile. "Would you like to come in Chorizo? Entrar?" she asked. Chorizo nodded and cautiously walked in.

Nula and the male meerkat moved out of the doorway for the young shrew as he came in and looked around the place. It was very small, and only seemed to have one room. The kitchen was to the left, while the "bedroom" was on the other side. A young meerkat, a couple years younger then Chorizo, slept in a pile of old blankets and hand made pillows stuffed with dried grass.

A couple areas on the walls had criss-crossed wooden boards and pieces of cloth covering the gaps and holes. The ground had holes as well, and patches of green mold everywhere. Chorizo's ear flicked from the irritating tag on his ear. Nula noticed and gave him a sad look.

"So, you are the new one. Reemplazo." she said. Chorizo turned to her with a look of worry. New one? Replacement? Why was he being considered the replacement? Nula motioned to the small wooden table near the kitchen. "Come. Sit," she told him. The male moved out of the way for Chorizo to sit at the table. Nula moved over to the old, rusty stove and prepared Chorizo a hot beverage. The male sat down across from Chorizo and stuck his hand out.

"Mi nombre is Iniko," he said. Chorizo shook his dark colored hand. Iniko pulled his hand back and nodded his head over to the young, sleeping meerkat. "That's Zulekha. Our son. He was born here in this country, after we were taken from our homeland..." Iniko's voice seemed to falter as he lowered his head a bit. Nula came back with three cracked mugs filled with a sweet smelling drink and placed them down in front of her husband and Chorizo.

Nula sat down and drank the drink she prepared. Iniko did the same, and finally, Chorizo tried a sip. It had many flavors, and was very strange as it went down his throat. Outside, crickets were heard chirping. A couple firefly lights flickered outside the windows in the pitch black night.

"Nula and I were taken here to work. We learned the language, and now, we're stuck here...with everyone else who came from our land," continued Iniko as he took another swig from his mug. Chorizo looked away from the male meerkat and stared down at the swirling brown drink in his mug.

Nula took a sip out of her mug before touching his hand. He looked up and noticed her smiling a small sad smile. "You seem upset. Where did you come from? Your familia?" she asked. Chorizo hesitated on whether to tell his story or not. So far, it seemed like nothing compared to the meerkat family's story. They were forced out of their home, just like Sunset and Little Storm. He just ran away from home. He felt horrible for leaving his mama, sister and brother in the hands of his horrible father and felt responsible for it all. He wanted to go back home and make his father leave and never come back...

After a couple minutes of silence, Nula decided not to ask the young shrew any more questons. "Come. You seem tired. Let's sleep, si?" she asked as she got up. Chorizo nodded and rubbed his tired eyes as he got up and followed Nula over to the other side of the room. She grabbed a couple blankets from the pile and placed them neatly on the other side.

"Here you go. I'm sorry if it's not much, but it's still warm for the cold nights," she said. Chorizo nodded a thanks and laid down in the blankets. "Do you want me to take your wrap?" she asked, pointing to his poncho. Chorizo stared down at the poncho, then shook his head and laid down. Nula nodded.

"All right. Good night, Chorizo. See you in the morning," Nula said and quietly walked away. Chorizo laid down close to an open window with a tattered cloth nailed at the op. It gently flapped in the cool breeze as Chorizo stared out at the night sky. The moon glowed above the house. Chorizo sighed, and watched as the yellow glow inside the house went out and the moonlight poured in from the visible holes and open windows in the house.

Chorizo listened as Iniko and Nula went over to their side and laid themselves down to sleep. Chorizo sighed and felt his eyes get heavy from sleep and finally closed them. He dreamed of his mama, Nico, and Isabelle...


	12. Chapter 12

...

Chorizo woke up to the faint sounds of shouting. It was still dark outside, and the moon was still hanging above the ranch. Chorizo rubbed his tired eyes as he slowly sat upright and turned his head over to the window across from him. The window stared right out, across the way, to where the old barn sat. Chorizo blinked his eyes tiredly, and he swayed a bit.

A couple faint flickers of orange light came from the old barn. A couple shouts escaped from it, but Chorizo was unable to hear what they were saying. He remembered back to when Romero told him to not go over there, but he couldnt stop thinking about the old barn.

An invisible force was pulling him. He just wanted to take a quick peek; he would be back before anyone knew he had left. He rubbed his eyes some more and tried waking himself up so he could go and see for himself. He got up from his "bed," wrapped his poncho around him, pulled his boots on, and began to slowly tiptoe his way to the door.

The floor was soft, and covered with material, so he didnt have to worry about waking up the meerkat family who he was staying with. Nula and Iniko were curled up around their young son and slept soundly in dreamland. Chorizo made it to the door and opened it. It creaked softly as it opened.

Chorizo turned back to the Meerkat family. They didnt move. His ear, with the tag attached to it, flicked as he turned back and looked out across the acres of land, to where the old barn sat in the edge, far away from everyone. There were not many of the men with guns at the border fence that surrounded the place, only about two, so Chorizo was able to stay within the shadows and be hidden.

Dark trees lined up against the border of the ranch when the slave village ended. The dark green leaves, lined in silver moonlight, rustled gently in the night, blocking the moon. Chorizo continued to follow the dark path from the slave houses, until it began to gradually diminish till there was no dirt path to follow. A cluster of thick trees and wild, over-grown mistletoe blocked the way to the mysterious barn.

Chorizo continued forward and climbed over the fallen over, dead tree trunks, and around stumps, and through the heavy mistletoe. Fireflies darted amongst the branches. Chorizo had never seen so many before in one area. It was a beautiful sight. Suddenly, Chorizo heard a soft _squish, _and winced when he felt his boots sink into a soft area in the earthy ground. It was a small pond, infested with leaves, bacteria, mosquitoes, and other sorts of water plants. Chorizo lifted his feet out and stared down at the swamp pond in disgust.

With that, he climbed up onto a branch, over the swamp, and climbed till he was certain he was safe. He jumped down and continued his way onward through the firefly realm. Finally, he came to a clearing, and stopped. The old barn stood just thirty feet away from him. To the left of it, the trees that bordered the ranch continued onward. The trees closest to the barn, had bended to where it looked as though they too wised to see what mystery went on inside.

Chorizo's eyes stared at the barn. This time, the voices were louder, and the flickering lights inside seemed brighter. Chorizo tried taking a step forward, but something inside him told him not to. _What if thats where they murder the slaves when they do something bad? _Chorizo thought to himself. He shifted nervously from the thought. He shook his head and stared at the old barn.

More shouts and then laughter came out from the old wooden barn. Fireflies flickered around the outside of the barn, close to the overgrown green grass that the barn was surrounded by. Curiosity got the better of the young shrew and he walked straight to the barn. The long, dark emerald green grass went up to Chorizo's chest as he trudged onward. The grass was cold, and slapped against his knees. Purple flowers grew from the thin grey stems that loomed over the grass, and Chorizo's head.

He pushed the grass and tall purple flowers away and to the barn. The barn loomed over the young shrew as its shadow engulfed him. The structure of the barn seemed a bit lopsided and needed a couple repairs. A couple empty barrels stood outside the barn, and an open window was seen.

Chorizo quietly crept up to the barrels to the window without glass. The window was a foot and a half higher up then his height. He narrowed his eyes in frustration and tried jumping. He still couldnt see. Just then, a loud sound was heard, followed by a loud roar. Chorizo stopped and quickly backed away. Suddenly, a hand gripped his arm. Chorizo yelped and turned his head. Romero glared at him.

"What the hell are you doin' 'ere you little brat?! I thought I told you to not come over 'ere!" snarled the short, one-eyed jackrabbit as he pulled him away from the barn. He held a lanturn up to Chorizo's face and glared at him with his one good eye.

"You aint supposed to be over 'ere! Do I need to chain yer ass down so you dont come over 'ere?!" shouted Romero over the yells and roars in the barn. Chorizo looked over his shoulder to the barn, before looking at Romero. "I-I j-just...wh-what goes on in that barn?" he asked nervously. Romero gripped Chorizo's arm tighter.

"It aint none of yer business, nino! You stay away from that place, or I'm gonna whup you till yer blind! Then you'll have to feel yer way aroun' the place! Got it?!" shouted Romero angrily. Chorizo began to tremble as he was firmly pulled down a very thin path that went through the acres of land with harvested plants and back to the slave houses.

Chorizo was shoved in front of Romero, and kicked so he could be a couple feet ahead of the short rabbit. Chorizo silently walked along the narrow pathway. He turned his head and saw the armed men at the fenced borderline, and seemed to glare at him. He continued onward.

Romero followed him back to the slave houses, then stopped, just as Chorizo began to walk up the porch steps to the Meerkat family house he was staying in. He turned back, just as Romero called him 'nino.' Romero glared up at him from where he stood on the dirt path, lantern in his hand.

"I'm gonna let you off, just because yer new to the place; but you are really starting to piss me off, nino. I dont want to see yer face around that barn! If I do, I wont be so generous," Romero warned him in a low voice. Chorizo didnt say anything as he just stood there, staring down at the old rabbit nervously.

With that, Romero huffed and flicked his chewed up ears over his shoulders and began walking down the path toward his little shack house. Chorizo watched as the old jackrabbit walked away till he was gone, leaving him on the porch in the moonlight. When Chorizo was sure Romero was gone.

Chorizo looked back over at the barn one last time before opening the door and walking back into the Meerkat family house and laying back down on the pile of cloth and stared straight ahead at the wall close to his nose. He couldnt sleep after what happened to him. His heart was racing...

...

The next morning, Chorizo woke up tired and sleepy, but Iniko wouldnt let him sleep in as he pulled him to his feet and helped him over to the table where Nula had already prepared him breakfast. A cup of water and a small cracked plate of beans."I'm sorry that we dont have much. Senor Elfonzo usually lets us get milk and eggs from the animals in the stables, but since all the...accidents...we have been banned from taking them, so all we have are beans, wheat, water, berries, and nuts," she explained.

Chorizo stared at the female meerkat nervously. What did she mean by "accidents?" her voice made him scared. Chorizo decided not to ask and just nodded his head. He looked down at the plte of beans and used his hands to scoop the beans into his mouth, since there were no utensils to be seen.

A couple minutes later, Zulekha woke up and sat at the table. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed that a stranger was in his house and looked over to his dad nervously. Iniko smiled and ruffled his son's hair. "Good morning, Zul, how did you sleep?" he asked. Zulekha still continued to stare at Chorizo. Iniko noticed and smiled softly.

"Zul, this is Chorizo, he got here just last night. He's new here and is gonna stay here with us," he explained. Chorizo smiled and waved a small wave to the young boy. Zulekha didnt wave back. Chorizo lowered his hand and looked away from Zulekha and continued eating his breakfast.

After everyone was done eating, they all filed out of the house and out to work in the fields. Iniko and Chorizo went one way, while Nula and Zulekha went another way. "Nula doesnt work in the fields with me, she works with a couple other women to wash our clothes, and feed the animals in the stables," Iniko explained.

Chorizo turned back and followed Iniko to the fields where other adult men and women were. The sun was barely coming up through the trees as the farmers began pulling up weeds and carrying heavy baskets into the wagon on the path and taking off down the way. Iniko waved when they approached three slaves. Two were african wild dogs who looked like twins, while the other was a tall, slender, female frog.

"Good morning!" he called. The other slaves waved, but then stopped when their eyes flickered down to Chorizo. "Who's this, Iniko?" asked a female light blue green frog with a strange accent. She had black patterns all over her arms and had thick black dreds drooping past her shoulders from a red band around her head. She wore a multicolored brown dress with patches and strips of beads and shells.

Iniko smirked and gently pushed Chorizo forward. "This is Chorizo. He just got here today," he said to the slaves. The twin male african wild dogs, stared down at Chorizo, not saying anything. The frog woman nodded her head and stared down at Chorizo closely. Chorizo's eyes flickered down, then back up to the strange, tall lady. He had never seen anyone like her before. The woman smirked and straightened back up.

"He seems very young to be working out here. How old is he?" the frog lady asked. Iniko shrugged, but Chorizo decided to anser the lady's question. "Th-thirteen," he stuttered in a low voice. The frog lady turned her head back to Chorizo, and smiled. "Thirteen. A very nice number," she seemed to chuckle in amusement at the thought. The twins snickered at the same time as well. Suddenly a scream was heard, which made Tia and the wild dogs laugh harder. The wild dogs laughed the loudest, but stopped when they noticed the armed men cock their rifles from where they stood.

"W-we need to get back to work, Tia," answered one of the wild dogs. The other one nodded, "Yes, back to work," he said. The frog lady, named Tia, sighed and picked up her shovel. "Allright, allright. Dont get yer minds twisted into one, you two," she said and looked back to Chorizo.

"It was a pleasure knowing you, Chorizo," she said with a smile, then she looked up to Iniko. "Tell Nula I say hi, and that I will be stopping by later to give her some more spices for her spice rack," she said. Iniko nodded. "Thank you. Nula really misses putting a couple spices in her food; I do as well," he explained. Tia smiled and nodded her head. "No problem," she said. With that, they said goodbye to Tia and the twins. Iniko and Chorizo continued to walk till they came to an empty area where there werent many slaves.

Iniko handed Chorizo a shovel. "Here, we need to dig up the potatoes from the ground," he explained. Chorizo accepted it, and began digging up the dirt. "After you dig up the potatoes, put them in the baskets," the male meerkat said as he pointed to the baskets nearby. Chorizo nodded. With that, Iniko grabbed his shovel and they both began to dig.

As Chorizo digged, he could feel the eyes of the profesional gun men watching him as they surrounded the other slaves. He quickly glanced around to the other slaves. They calmly worked as the sun began to rise higher in the sky, and began to burn away the cool atmosphere, and roast the poor creatures.

As Chorizo looked, he began to realize that there was no other shrews. The only creatures he could see were mostly meerkats, wild dogs, a couple hyenas, and Tia, who seemed to be the only frog. _Where is Edwardo then? Senor Elfonzo said that he was here, then...where is he? Where is my hermano? _Chorizo asked himself as he looked around a second time. No one looked remotely close to how Chorizo looked. Maybe Edwardo was an adopted hyena? or a wild dog? but Chorizo shook his head. _No, that can't be..._he thought.

Chorizo looked over to Iniko. "Iniko. Do you know every slave here on this ranch?" he asked in a small voice, which made him have to repeat his question. Iniko looked up at Chorizo. "Yes, I do know everyone 'ere," he answered. Chorizo leaned against his shovel. "Do you know if a shrew by the name of Edwardo was here?" he asked. Iniko blinked, then shook his head. "No, cant say I do. One of the wild dog twins you met earlier is named Edverd, but I have never heard the name Edwardo here before, why?" he asked.

Chorizo looked up at the male meerkat. "I was told that my brother, Edwardo, was here, Senor Elfonzo said so...but you said that you dont know anyone here by that name..." Chorizo felt tears of frustration come to his eyes. He quickly wiped them away before looking back up to Iniko. Iniko stared down at the young shrew, feeling horrible for him.

"I'm sorry, Chorizo...I really am...I wish I could tell you that your brother is here...but he's not..." he said as he patted Chorizo on the back. Chorizo didnt look up as he stared at the ground. Iniko looked over to the gunmen before getting his shovel and continued to dig. "Come. Dig, or they will shoot us," said Iniko. Chorizo silently obeyed and continued to dig. After a half an hour of silence, Iniko finally stopped for a short break and looked back up.

"Now that I recall, there was an Edward here on this ranch, but he wasnt a shrew...You are his replacement," said Iniko in a low voice and continued digging. Chorizo stopped digging. He remembered being told that he was a replacement. "R-replacement? Why? Wh-what happened to Edward?" asked Chorizo. Iniko sighed and hesitated on answering.

"He...got into...an accident..." was all that he said. Chorizo felt the blood drain from his face. What accidents? What happened to all the slaves? What did Mr. Elfonzo and Romero do to the slaves? Chorizo felt sick and had to sit down. Iniko continued to dig. "You cant sit for long, Chorizo...they'll come over and _threaten_ you, and their threatening usually dont end well," said Iniko. Chorizo got back up to his feet and continued to dig, but he still felt nauseous.

...

The hours progressed on, and the sun baked everyone's backs as they continued to work with no breaks. Chorizo was very sore and tired. He wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his aching hand before looking back over to the barn, which rested in the cool shade of the trees. It was quiet, unlike last night. Chorizo instantly felt afraid of the barn, but still wanted to know what went on inside.

Chorizo turned his head to the other side and noticed Romero standing outside on the porch of his small home, glaring at the slaves. He seemed really angry, angrier then Chorizo had ever seen him since last night. Suddenly, Romero glared over to Chorizo, who quickly went back to work. Chorizo could already tell that Romero really hated him. Mr. Elfonzo was nowhere to be seen. He was probably inside his nice house, enjoying the cool atmosphere and drinking expensive wine.

Chorizo sighed and looked over to Iniko, who was still digging and putting the potatoes he dug up into a basket. He really wanted to ask Iniko what went on in the barn, but something in his throat kept him from speaking. Chorizo looked away and continued digging up potatoes. Maybe some other time, he thought to himself.

Finally, the sun began to set, and the stars came out. Romero rang a cowbell, signalling that it was time to head back to their homes. Everyone was very exhausted, and couldnt wait to just lie down and sleep. Chorizo was very sore and tired, he couldnt lift his arms up. He followed down the path with Iniko and they walked back to their house. Chorizo watched as the young slave kids laughed and chased eachother down the dark path and into the bushes.

The women followed right behind, very tired, but still able to walk. The slaves were used to the hard work at Senor Elfonzo's ranch, but not Chorizo. Chorizo groaned and made his way up the steps to inside the Meerkat family house. He instantly flopped down in one of the chairs and layed his head down on the table.

"Here you are, Chorizo," said Nula as she placed a mug of water down near his head. Chorizo didnt lift his head up. He was very tired. Zul sat next to him and stared down at the thirteen year old shrew. "Isn't chorizo a sausage?" the young meerkat asked. Chorizo turned his head over to Zulekha and awkwardly nodded his head.

"Si. Chorizo is a sausage...a good sausage," he answered, instantly hungry for chorizos all the sudden. Zul smiled. "Thats funny. I dont know anyone named after a sausage. Was your papa a sausage?" he asked. Chorizo couldnt help but laugh as he lifted his head up.

"No, my papa wasn't a sausage...though, that would've been nice," he answered as he smiled at Zul. Zul laughed. Nula and Iniko laughed a small laugh as well. Nula placed plates of food down in front of the two boys while Iniko let his wife have the chair while he sat on his knees at the table. Chorizo ate his food hungrily and asked for seconds.

Just as Chorizo was asking for thirds, there was a knock at the door. "Zul, could you be a dear and go get that?" asked Nula. Zul nodded and got up out of his seat to get the door. The young meerkat opened it, and Tia, the female frog lady stood at the door. She smiled and waved to Nula, Iniko, and Chorizo.

"Hello, I said I would be stopping by to give you some spices," she answered and held up a small leather sack. Nula got up and accepted the bag. "Gracias, Tia!" she said and hugged the frog lady. Tia hugged her friend back and smiled. "I'm glad to see you are doing well, and you got a new one," she said as she nodded her head over to Chorizo. Nula smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, he's a really good boy," she said. Nula thanked Tia again and began to place the small glass jars of spices onto her empty spice rack. While Nula was busy, Tia went down on her knees to Zul.

"Hello, Zul, how are you and the others doing? Not getting into any trouble?" she asked as she smiled and winked. Zul smiled and laughed a small laugh. "Romero got so angry at us today! He nearly had a heart attack when he saw the voo doo doll of himself we left on his desk," Zul said. Chorizo remembered back to when he met Tia and the wild dog twins, and then someone screamed. It must have been Romero. Chorizo couldnt help but snicker.

Tia laughed a small laugh and reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange looking doll that had long droopy grey ears, and a small black patch over one eye. Chorizo stared at the doll before looking up at Tia. Tia grinned. "It's so much fun getting back at Romero," she said. Then she pocketed the doll and pulled out a broken mirror and handed it to Zul.

"Here, put this in front of Romero's front door when he walks out tomorrow morning," Tia said with a grin on her face. Zul grinned as well and quickly pocketed the mirror in his pocket before his parents could see what they were planning.

"Thanks, Tia. Bye," said Zul. Tia smirked, then got up and waved goodbye to everyone. "Well, best be off. Goodbye everyone," she said. With that, she walked down the steps. Zul closed the door and went back to sit down next to Chorizo. Chorizo stared at the handle sticking out from Zul's back pocket. "Why did Tia give you a broken mirror?" he asked. Zul looked over to his parents, who were talking about how their day was, before leaning over to Chorizo and whispered to him.

"Broken mirrors are seven years bad luck, that's what Tia says, and Romero is very superstitious," he explained. Chorizo gave him a look. "What does that mean?" he asked. "It means that he believes in things that he thinks will give him bad luck, like a broken mirror. Its funny to see his reactions," said Zul as he laughed softly. Chorizo smiled in amusement.

"That's funny. So he believes in alot of weird things like the undead, or ghosts?" he asked. Zul nodded. "Yeah, and we love to pull pranks on him, since he's always making it hard for me and the other kids' parents," he explained. Chorizo smiled. "Can I come along with you kids too?" he asked. Zul nodded. "Sure, but you have to wake up and be ready really early. Meet me and the others at the old tree near Romero's house. Zul explained. Chorizo nodded, "Ok," he said.

Zul grinned and finished eating his food. Chorizo asked for his thirds, and when they were done, they headed to bed. "Goodnight, Chorizo," said Zul as he slept on the pile of blankets and cloth. Nula and Iniko said goodnight to Chorizo as well.

"Goodnight, everyone," he said and laid his head down. Chorizo was really nervous, and excited at the same time. He felt his heart pumping fast, just like the time when he went out to the old barn. He liked the feeling, it was thrilling. With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

...

_During the night, Chorizo had a dream about his family. Beto was beating him with his huge fists which seemed to be made of heavy, thick meat. Chorizo tried moving away, but he couldnt, all he could do was scream in agony while his mom, Nico and Isabella watched from the corner. _

_"Help me! Please!" he screamed, but they wouldnt help. Just then, Butch came around and tied his weak arms down tightly and made him sit upright. Then, Romero and Mr. Elfonzo appeared. They all had guns in their hands. Chorizo's father and Butch pulled out guns as well. _

_Beto approached the weak Chorizo and glared down at his son. He sighed heavily as his eyes flickered over to the gun at his side for a long time, then back down to Chorizo. "Might as well just end this right now..." Beto said. "You were a complicated son to deal with...why did I even bother to raise you? You disgust me...I wish I never had you...or Edwardo..." with that, he and the other men raised their guns to Chorizo's chest-_

_Bang! Bang! Bang!-_

_"_Nooooo!" Chorizo screamed as he sat bolt upright. His serape was all wrapped up tightly around him, but he was able to move one arm out, and clutch his chest. There were no bullets as he rubbed his hand over a couple times. No bullets...no blood...it was all a dream...A realistic dream. Chorizo felt tears come to his eyes. He felt his stomach churn and his throat tighten up.

Suddenly, he felt hands touch his shoulders. He jolted and turned. A small light came on and revealed the face of Nula. "Chorizo...are you ok?" she asked. Chorizo looked away as a couple tears ran down his face. His papas words continued to repeat in his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, but more tears came down.

Chorizo felt Nula's arms wrap around him and smooth the top of his head. "Its ok...it was just a nightmare..." she assured him, gently rocking him back and forth. Chorizo tried wiping the tears away, but they still trickled down his face. His stomach was all knotted up and seemed impossible to unwind. The nightmare continued to repeat in his head, and he didnt know what to do.

Just then, Nula began to hum a calm, soothing song to him. It sounded very nice, and sweet. Chorizo stopped dwelling on the nightmare, and listened to the small african lullaby song. It was soft, and low, and seemed to make Chorizo sleepy. Gradually, the nightmare seemed to fade away. Nula continued to hum the tune till Chorizo's eyes were closed, and Nula slowly laid him back down.

Nula whispered something in a different language that Chorizo didnt understand. Then he felt Nula fix up his tangled serape and in a proper way. Then she got up and turned out the little light. Chorizo nestled snugly where he was, and instantly fell dead asleep...

...

The next morning, Chorizo woke up, instantly remembering last night. He blinked his eyes multiple times and slowly sat upright. He stared down at the serape that was still wrapped around him snugly. He removed one hand and lightly ran his fingers across it. He sighed and thought back to the nightmare he had.

He could remember parts from it. It scared him imensely. What if his dad was still out there, looking for him? Was he going to kill him? Was Butch, Romero and Mr. Elfonzo going to kill him too? He shook his didnt want to think about it. He didnt want to know if his dad was still out there looking for him.

Chorizo looked over to where Nula and Iniko were sleeping. Nula was curled up next to her husband, sleeping soundly, while Iniko had one arm draped across her waist. He smiled a small smile. They were great parents. Even though they were living through the worst times, they still managed to keep everything calm and happy for them and their-

Chorizo blinked as his eyes scanned around the two adult meerkats for Zulekha. The little meerkat was no where to be seen. Instantly, Chorizo remembered that he was supposed to be meeting Zul and the others at the tree near Romero's house. Chorizo cursed under his breath as he quickly got up, grabbed his boots and quickly tiptoed to the door and bolted out the house.

He jumped on one foot trying to put one boot on and then on the other, and nearly killed himself as he went down the wooden steps and then down the dirt pathway. Fireflies clustered near tall strands of grass near the mucky river that stretched around the slave place. Chorizo sprinted down the path toward Romero's place.

Chorizo was breathing heavily as he slowed to a walk and approached the twisted willow tree. Fireflies flickered in and out of the swaying leaves of the tree as Chorizo saw a clustered group of boys near it. The meerkat and hyena boys all turned and instantly glared at him, making Chorizo stop just five feet from them. Most of them had tags in their ears, one of them didn't.

"Ug. Why did you have to invite _him, _Zul?" whispered the one meerkat boy without a tag. Another meerkat nodded. "Yeah, what if he makes us get caught, then we'll be in deep trouble," he whispered and scratched his arm.

Zul gave them all a glare. "Chorizo is my amigo. He will be quiet, Tagless. He wont let us get caught," he said in a whisper. Tagless, the meerkats and the hyena boys exchanged glances before looking at Chorizo. Chorizo stared back. In the small bits of moonlight that flickered through the long strands of the twisted willow tree, Chorizo could see their eyes filled with hate, especially Tagless'.

They didnt seem to welcome newcomers all that well in their little gathering. Chorizo instantly felt unwanted, and felt that he was going to screw this prank up. Zul didnt seem to think so though.

Chorizo turned to Zul. Zul continued to glare at his friends. The meerkat without the tag finally turned to Zul. "All right, Zul, he can stay," he said. Zul's face gradually changed into a smile. Chorizo smiled a small smile as well to the group, but the group didnt smile back. "What prank are we gonna pull on the old rabbit this time?" asked a hyena next to Tagless.

Zul grinned and pulled out the mirror Tia gave him yesterday night. "I'm glad you asked, Bentz... I'm glad you asked," Zul said in a low voice with a wicked grin on his face. The boys stared at the mirror. "A mirror?" asked the other meerkat. Zul shook his head. "Not just _a mirror, _Clay. A magic mirror. A mirror that could possibly make Romero stay inside his house for years," Zul explained with the same creepy grin on his face.

The boys exchanged confused glances, but were silent when they looked back at Zul, eager to know how that was possible. Zul continued. "Tia said that if you break a mirror, it's seven years bad luck...which is what Romero believes..." he said. The boys snickered at the thought. "I love it. So, what do you suggest we do?" asked Tagless. Zul motioned his hand for the boys to come closer to him and began to tell his plan...

...

Chorizo followed right behind Zul and Tagless as they went around Romero's house and to the back window. The kids divided up into two groups and went off around the opposite direction of the house. Chorizo saw from the corner of his eye as two stopped and hid near the front door of the house, and two other went around and hid near the side windows of the house. One was up in the tree, spying down into the window to where Romero was sleeping.

Chorizo was unable to watch anymore as he followed Zul to the back and stopped in the bushes. Above their heads, was an open window with a couple dream catchers hanging down from it. Zul pointed to the window, then silently made a motion. Chorizo gave him a blank look. Tagless nodded, understanding what the meerkat was doing. Zul handed Chorizo the mirror, and stood up. Tagless cupped his hands, allowing Zul to place his right foot in, then hoist him up. Zul jumped up to grab the small ledge of the window.

Zul grunted softly as he got up and sat on the window ledge. Chorizo stood up next to Tagless. Tagless seemed to tense up, making Chorizo take a small side step away from the boy. Zul silently reached his hand down for the mirror. Chorizo handed him the mirror. Zul accepted it before disappearing into the house.

Chorizo and Tag were a little bigger and taller then Zul, so they were able to hoist themselves up onto the window's ledge with ease. Chorizo's ears flicked when they brushed up against the hanging, home-made dream catchers. Chorizo ignored them as he pulled his poncho in and ducked his head. He shifted himself to the inside of the house and carefully stepped down onto some boxes full of old books and more dream catchers. He jumped down quietly, but the wooden boards made a small squeak as he did.

He winced and looked over to Zul, who placed his thin, index finger over his lips. Chorizo nodded his head and looked down at his boots. He decided that it was possibly a good idea to _not _wear boots while in Romero's house. Carefully, he slipped them off and held them in his right hand.

Tagless came down after. He stood up and shouldered past Chorizo. Chorizo rubbed his arm and glared at Tagless, but Tagless and Zul were already walking. Chorizo sighed quietly and tiptoed after them.

The three boys quietly walked through the dark room, which Chorizo instantly recognized. It was the same room where Romero clipped the tag onto his ear. Chorizo's ear with the tag flicked nervously as he passed by the bloody table where he was forced down by Romero. He shivered and continued to follow Zul and Tagless.

They walked into a hallway with endless stacks of dusty old books against the walls. The boys stared up at the tall stacks with caution. The stacks went up high over their heads, and almost looked like they were just itching to fall over on them. The boys trudged on. Chorizo noticed a couple strange amulets and charms hanging or wedged into every crack, or doorway of the house. Some he could recognise, others he had never seen before, but he knew they were all for good luck or to ward off evil.

Most of them were homemade, and were made out of wood, glass, bone, and metal. Some had old roadrunner feathers, stones, teeth, colored cloth and other various things. Chorizo was very surprised on how superstitious Romero was. The moonlight shined down through a window onto the boys as they passed by. The bits of glass that hung down from one dream catcher shimmered and sparkled with beautiful colors.

They disappeared back into the shadows and entered into Romero's small room. Only a bed and a nightstand was able to fit in Romero's room. Everywhere else was taken over by hanging charms, and amulets and other strange knick-knacks. Tagless and Chorizo stood around Zul and watched the old rabbit sleep while Zul tried to find a place to put the mirror.

Romero muttered something in his sleep and turned over to the other side. Chorizo stared down at the one-eyed rabbit, scared that he would wake up any minute and grab him by the neck.

Tagless didnt seem scared if the old rabbit would wake up. He had an expressionless look on his face. Zul looked around the room till he knew where to put it. Romero began to snore, startling Zul and nearly dropping the mirror. Chorizo nearly had a heart attack, but finally relaxed and began to twist the end of his poncho nervously.

Zul stared at Chorizo and Tagless in the darkness before turning his head over to Romero. Romero continued to sleep. Tagless placed his hand out to Zul for the mirror. Zul stared at the mirror before giving it to him. Tagless placed the mirror down at the very edge of Romero's dresser. Zul stared at Tagless, then sighed and finally nodded. With that, they all quietly tiptoed around Romero's bed. Chorizo turned around and began to walk out the door.

Suddenly, his boots knocked against Romero's bed, making a loud noise. Chorizo gasped and froze. Romero stopped snoring and slowly began to sit upright. Tagless and Zul instantly knew they were in trouble. They grabbed Chorizo and bolted out. "Hey! Who's there?!" shouted Romero as he flew the covers off him. The covers touched the mirror, making it teeter and fall.

_Crash! _

Chorizo, Tagless, and Zul continued to run through the house. Their shoulders clipped against the towering stacks of books, making them fall. "Hurry!" yelled Zul as he began to run faster. Chorizo followed right behind the young meerkat. Edges of books scraped against his back and arms as he continued to run. When they made it out, Chorizo and Zul stopped and looked back.

The books were everywhere on the ground in a huge heap. Suddenly, part of the heap began to move. "Z-Zul! H-help me!" cried out Tagless. He was buried underneath the pile of books. He reached his arms out to the two boys. "Help me!" he cried again. Zul gasped and tried to reach for his friend. Suddenly, loud footsteps were heard. Chorizo and Zul looked up, just in time to see Romero appear with a rifle in his hands.

"Come back 'ere, you brats!" Romero yelled as he aimed the gun at them. "Run!" yelled Chorizo as he grabbed Zul and bolted, leaving Tagless in the heap of books. Chorizo went first and jumped up to the window ledge. A gunshot went off, and pieces of wood exploded next to Chorizo's shoulder. He yelped and jumped out the window. Zul came after. The boys who were keeping watch around Romero's house were already gone. The two bolted down the street and didnt turn back. They ran down the dirt path and up the steps to their house. Safe and sound. Chorizo and Zul went back to their 'beds' and tried falling asleep.

Chorizo's heart was still pounding after what just happened. Tagless was still at Romero's house. Chorizo felt his stomach twist in guilt. He just left him there. What is Romero going to do to him? What is going to happen to the boy? Chorizo squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think of something else, but all he could think about was Tagless, reaching his arms out from under the heavy books. _"Help me!" _

...

A couple hours later, it was time to work. The slaves got up and began to get dressed and ready. Chorizo felt someone nudge his shoulder. "Chorizo. Come. We go to the fields," said Iniko. Chorizo groaned and slowly opened his eyes. The sun wasnt even up, it was still dark. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He finally got motivated to get up, put on his boots, and follow Iniko to the table where Nula was already up and preparing them breakfast. "Buenos dias, Chorizo. You sleep well, yes?" she asked. Chorizo didnt hear her as he laid his head down on the table and fell back asleep.

After breakfast, Chorizo and Iniko went off to work in the fields. Iniko got a couple tools from the shed and handed a shovel to Chorizo. Chorizo accepted it. Chorizo still had that horrible knot in his stomach. His tired eyes turned over to Romero's house. "Come, Chorizo. Let's go," said Iniko, interrupting the young shrew's thoughts. Chorizo turned away and followed right behind Iniko.

During the first hour, Chorizo was unable to keep his head up. His eyes were heavy as he tried digging up the weeds with his shovel. He still couldnt help but think about the incident from last night. It was all his fault. He was the one who woke up Romero, thus causing Tagless to get caught and now possibly gone. Chorizo could feel Iniko staring at him, but just ignored him as he tried to work.

"Chorizo? Are you ok? You look as if you didnt have much sleep last night," said Iniko. Chorizo sighed and shook his head. "I...I didnt...I...had a bad dream..." he answered. It was somewhat the truth. Iniko nodded. "Ah. Nula told me about that," he said. Chorizo didnt say anything as he uprooted a weed and tossed it into the bucket near him.

Chorizo stared down at the half filled bucket of weeds and sighed. His eyes were feeling very heavy and his head began to nod. Suddenly, he felt a rough hand jerk him upward. He gasped and his eyes widened as he turned and found himself staring face to face with Romero. Romero's eye glared up at him. "I know it was you last night! You were with the brats, tryin' to pull another bad luck thing on me!" he shouted. Chorizo felt his heart skip a beat as Romero gripped the front of his shirt.

"I should ask the guys out there to shoot ya where ya stand!" Romero growled as he nodded his head out to the gun men. Chorizo gulped and shook his head nervously. "N-no-" he started, but stopped when Romero pulled out a long knife. Romero grinned, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth. "Or maybe...I should cut you another ear, an' maybe this time you'll listen to me," Romero said as he lightly ran the tip of the blade close to Chorizo's ear.

"Romero! Shouldn't you be inside your house, worrying if bad luck might hit you?" said a voice behind them. Romero removed the blade from Chorizo's face and turned his head. Tia appeared in front of them. Romero growled and pulled Chorizo forward. "This boy was in my house! I know he was! He and the other brats left a mirror in my room!" he shouted. Tia seemed to smirk as she placed her hands on her hips.

"A mirror...oh dear...thats horrible," she said sarcastically. Romero bared his teeth. "Those boys are evil and should get hanged for it!" he snarled. Tia's expression didnt change. "They are just boys, Romero...and leaving a mirror in your room is not a crime. They didnt steal anything. Why are you so worked up about them leaving a mirror in your room? Are you afraid to see your face?" she grinned. Romero growled.

"You know damn well why I'm so worked up about a mirror in my house, you witch! You possessed those kids into doing it!" he shouted as he gripped Chorizo's arm tighter. Tia seemed to chuckle softly at Romero's furious face. "I did no such thing, Romero," she said. Romero glared at Tia. "Go away, witch! or I'll-" "Or you'll what, Romero? What are you going to do?" Tia asked as she pulled out an object from her raggedy dress.

It was the strange doll that looked just like Romero. Romero released Chorizo and took a step back. His eye was wide with fear. "Wh-where...?" Romero stuttered as he stared at the doll. Tia smirked at Romero's shocked face. Then she pulled out a black needle and hovered it over the doll's chest. "Now, why dont you leave Senor Chorizo and the other boys alone. ok?" she asked. Romero took a couple more steps away from Tia. "I-I-I'm gonna t-tell S-senor E-Elf-f-fonz-" "As if Senor Elfonzo is gonna believe you. Remember the last time you told him about me being a witch?" Tia said as she grinned. Romero's eyes widened.

With that, Romero pulled out a jumble of necklaces with charms and amulets from under his shirt. His hands shook as he fumbled for the right one. He continued taking steps back from Tia, then tripped and fell on his back. The short rabbit groaned and looked back at Tia, who still held the doll and needle. "As if those will work on me," she said, eyeing the necklaces. Romero quickly got up and pulled a couple bulbs of white garlic out and chucked them at her.

"G-Go to H-Hell, you w-witch! " he shouted. With that, he bolted away. Tia laughed as she watched the short rabbit run away from her. Iniko went back to work, but Chorizo could tell he was smiling. Chorizo laughed as well and watched Romero run till he was gone. Tia turned to Chorizo. "Romero is so superstitious, he makes him believe everything is against him, and is going to make a fool of himself," she laughed again and stared down at the doll in her hands. Iniko looked up and stared at the doll.

"Do those really worh though?" he asked. Tia looked up. "Hmm? no. They are mostly just ways to relieve stress. I just use this one to scare Romero away," Tia turned to Chorizo with a smirk. "I'm from New Orleans, and Romero thinks Im a witch doctor or something, and that I possess kids and make voo doo dolls," she explained as she handed the Romero doll to the young shrew. Chorizo stared down at it.

"What do they do?" he asked. Tia stabbed the thin black needle into the little rabbit doll's chest. "Its supposed to bring Romero pain, but they dont really work...I wish they did though," she added in a low voice. Chorizo stared down at the doll before giving it back to Tia. "Cool," he said with a small smile. He never heard of voo doo dolls before until now. Tia smiled and accepted the doll back.

"Well, best be off, before I get in real trouble with Senor Elfonzo again. Adios!" she said and left. Iniko and Chorizo waved goodbye till the blue frog woman was gone. Chorizo and Iniko went back to work.

The sun came up and lit up the brown field with patches of green. Chorizo and Iniko were silent for most of the day, except for when the twins, Edverd and Ignacio came by and asked about Romero.

"We saw him run like a chicken on fire!" laughed Ignacio. Edverd snickered. "Yes, he looked really scared!" he added. Iniko told them how Tia saved Chorizo with her "witch powers." The two wild dogs grinned. They loved hearing about what Tia and the young slave boys do to Romero. They seemed like they would be the ones doing the pranks, but were actually very shy and scared of getting caught.

After that, they left, leaving Iniko and Chorizo back to their work.

After a half an hour of silence, Chorizo found himself feeling like he was being watched. He looked up and found himself staring at the old barn in the shady corner. He turned to Iniko.

"Iniko?" asked Chorizo. Iniko looked over to the gunmen before looking over to Chorizo. "Si?" he asked. Chorizo nodded his head over to the old barn. "Wh-what goes on in that barn?" he asked. Iniko's eyes nervously left Chorizo's and drifted off to the barn. He seemed nervous as he stared at the barn, then looked away and continued digging.

"I...I dont know...b-but there are rumors..." he said. Chorizo stared at him. "Rumors? What kind of rumors?" he asked. Iniko didnt answer. "Iniko?" asked Chorizo. Iniko nervously glanced over to the gunmen before over to Chorizo again. His dark colored eyes were filled with fear and his little ears were down.

"I don't like t-talking about the barn...B-bad things...h-happen there..." he said. Hearing this made Chorizo frightened, but he wanted to know more. "Tell me, por favor, senor Iniko," he asked. Iniko hesitated. "W-well...I...I dont know if they are t-true...but...there are stories...th-that... Senor Elfonzo tortures slaves in there...and kills them..." Iniko said with fear heard in his voice. Chorizo felt his stomach twist.

Iniko continued. "H-he tells us th-that it was an 'accident'...n-nothing else...b-but w-we know...that the slaves...wh-who are s-sent there for going against orders...are s-sent there to b-be killed..." Chorizo felt his heart skip a beat and could feel his legs shake a bit. "B-but...th-thats just a rumor...r-right...?" he asked. Iniko slowly turned his head to face the young shrew. His eyes were wide and full of fear. "I...I dont know..." he answered.

...

The day wore on, till the sun began to set. All the worn out slaves slowly walked from the fields and back to their place. Chorizo's arms and legs were very sore from the hard labor and was ready to just fall asleep. Iniko carried the shovels and placed them back in the shed. Chorizo was about to nod off when he spotted the group of boys. He instantly remembered Tagless.

He searched through the group for the tall boy. He was nowhere to be found. Chorizo began to panic. He finally spotted Zulekha and ran up to him. Zul's eyes widened in surprise when Chorizo ran up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Where is Tagless? What happened to him? Where is he?!" asked Chorizo at a rapid pace as he began to breathe heavily. Zul's eyes flickered over to where his friends were. They stared at the two boys, then quickly walked away. Zul looked back to Chorizo. "T-Tagless was caught by Romero..." he said. Chorizo slowly removed his hands from Zul's shoulders.

"Wh-what does that mean?" Chorizo asked nervously. Zul took a deep breath and sighed. "Tagless was known for never being caught. He was the only slave here who never got his ear tagged, that's why me and the boys call him Tagless," explained Zul. Chorizo's ear with the tag flicked nervously. He could sense that something bad was coming up.

Zul continued. "Romero hated Tagless, and told him that if he ever caught him, he would send him to the barn...and since this morning...we havent seen Tagless anywhere..."

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait. School is in the way. :P But dont give up on me just yet. I promise to get this story rolling faster :) hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

...

_Chorizo stared blankly up at the cracked wooden ceiling, unable to sleep. After the little story Zul told him about Tagless, Chorizo felt that it was his fault for getting Tagless caught, and now is possibly going to die. Chorizo's stomch churned uneasily inside him. It was very painful to think what they could possibly be doing to Tagless in the barn right now... or already did..._

_The thought caused Chorizo to sit upright and bury his face in his hands. He fought the tears back as he sat there. He couldnt take it anymore. Guilt was slicing him up, and he needed to know if the stories Iniko told him were all just rumors. Chorizo lowered his hands from his face and turned his head to the barn. Faint lights from the fireflies flickered and lazily darted around the tall, moonlit grass outside the old, dark barn at the edge of the field._

_Chorizo narrowed his eyes a bit and wiped the forming tears from his eyes. He slowly got up, grabbed his boots, and quietly made his way to the door and outside. He sat down and slipped his boots on before making his way down the steps. The moon was out, but would occasionally hide behind the dark clouds in the sky with the stars._

_Chorizo followed the dark path along the outskirts where the old trees grew. He remembered the last time he walked in the trees and got caught by Romero. Hopefully, that wont happen again. Chorizo kept glancing over his shoulder to see if Romero was around. He wasnt. Possibly in his house making another good luck charm._

_Chorizo turned his head back to the old barn. It hid in the darkness under the trees. Chorizo swatted a firefly away as he climbed over a thick low branch and ducked under some more branches. He watched where he stepped this time and walked around the ponds filled with sludge and mosquito eggs. He finally came to the clearing with the tall dark green grass shimmering in silver moonlight._

_The fireflies flickered around him as he trudged on foreward. The cold breeze made him shiver and the wet grass lightly smack and curl around his moving legs, but he continued on. He made it to the barn. It seemed bigger the last time he walked up to it. He noticed the window. A dim orange light glowed from inside. Chorizo walked up to it and tried peering inside-_

_Suddenly, his papa appeared. Chorizo gasped and took a step back. "Papa!" he cried. His papa growled and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and pulled him inside. "I finally got you, you little brat! Now I can teach you a lesson about leaving me and your mom!" he snarled as he pushed Chorizo to the front and toward the middle of the barn._

_Chorizo gasped. Inside were huge machines with deadly razors and sharp tools. A couple slaves were seen strapped down on wooden tables and getting sliced up by the weapons. Blood gushed out of the bodies as the slaves screamed and begged for mercy. Then Chorizo saw Tagless, lying on his stomach. His arms and legs were strapped tightly down at the edges of the table as his ears were ripped from his head by the deadly tools. Tagless screamed, and turned his head over to Chorizo. Chorizo gasped in horror._

_Suddenly, Chorizo found himself strapped down in one of the machines. He struggled and strained to break the ropes but it was no use. He looked up, just as the sharp, metal razors came to life and began to come down toward his face. "Nooooo! Noooo!" he screamed-_

"Ahhhhh!" Chorizo screamed himself awake as he sat bolt upright. His chest was soaked with sweat and he was shaking like a leaf. He felt tears come to his eyes as he held his head and buried his face in his hands. The nightmare felt so real...

After a couple minutes of calming himself down, he realized that he screamed, possibly waking up the Meerkat family. He turned to look over. The Meerkat family were out like a light. They didnt seem to stir. Chorizo sighed and looked out to the window to the old barn. He narrowed his eyes a bit and slowly got up.

...

The closer he got to the barn, the more scared he got. Chorizo fumbled with the end of the serape he wore as he walked through the tall, wet green grass. The fireflies flew away from him and landed a good distance away on the purple flowers.

He approached the barn and stared up at it. The moon shined down on the barn, creating a shadow that enveloped Chorizo. Chorizo took a deep breath and sighed as he cautiously turned his head to see if Romero was around. He wasnt. With that. Chorizo walked up to the barn. A warm orange glow flickered in the window above. Chorizo turned to the stacked boxes and began to climb them. When he finally got to the top, he looked inside through the window.

Inside reeked of cigars and alcohol. The barn was filled with groups of men huddled around something throughout the inside of the barn. Lanturns hung from the wooden rafters or just sat on barrels in the corners of the place. The inside of the barn was old and looked like the whole thing was just going to fall apart any minute. There were about three to four groups in all. The group of men closest to Chorizo had their backs facing him and were laughing, drinking alcohol, and waving fistfuls of money in their hands and shouting things to whatever they were watching.

Chorizo still couldnt tell what was going on. He could barely see through to see what they were looking at. He ducked when a creepy rat guy passed around the group of men and to the other side. The guy had a glare on his face, and he had a couple bruises and scars all over his body. His hair was matted and looked like he was in his twenties. He had a tag on his right ear and wore dirty, torn brown pants under a white apron with food stains all over it. The thing Chorizo mostly noticed, was that a good section of his tail was missing.

The rat came around and disappeared through a wooden door near the back and was gone. With that, Chorizo decided to see if he could figure out a way to look at what all the commotion is all about. Chorizo's eyes flickered up to the rafters. He could get a great view from the rafters, but how was he going to get up there?

Chorizo turned his head and noticed a wooden ladder that went all the way up to the loft above Chorizo. A sudden scream of agony came from in the crowd. "Kill him! Finish him off!" yelled someone. More shouts and laughter continued on. Chorizo climbed throught the window, then began to climb up the wooden ladder. Every five seconds, Chorizo would turn his head to see if anyone below would catch him climbing up the ladder. No one did, everyone was into whatever they were watching. Chorizo took a deep breath and exhaled as he finished going up and finally sat down on the edge of the loft.

Below him, were a couple of dug out pits. where there were two wild looking creatures inside each one and were fighting eachother. One was a cougar, drenched in his own blood, and was missing one of his ears. In a different ring, a black viper attacked his opponent and killed him in less then five seconds. The men clustered around the deep pits were either cursing loudly or cheering and throwing money.

Chorizo's eyes widened in shock. It was a secret arena. A place where men came to take wagers on the fighters. It was very illegal in alot of places and many who fought in the blood games usually didnt make it out alive. Chorizo remembered hearing a story about an abandoned old house outside his town where an illegal fighting ring was created. The local sheriffs arrested the men in charge of it, and destroyed the old house.

Chorizo watched the fights in each pit in fear. _Did Senor Elfonzo know about this? Did they really send the slaves here to fight to the death? Did his brother have to fight? _The thought made Chorizo nausous. How could they do something like this?

Suddenly, Chorizo heard something from below. The wooden door on the other side burst open and in came a slave Chorizo couldnt recognize, followed behind by a couple uniformed gun men. They shoved him to the ground. The slave, a hedgehog, fell with a flop and groaned weakly. He was covered in bruises and was bleeding from the corners of his mouth.

Suddenly, the double wooden barn doors burst open and Senor Elfonzo appeared. All the crowds around the pits stopped yelling and turned their heads. The fights stopped and everything went quiet in the barn. Chorizo held his breath and moved away from the edge and hid in the shadows in the loft. Senor Elfonzo glared at the hedgehog and began to slowly approach him. The crowds moved away, parting a path for the rich squirrel.

Chorizo watched as the huge squirrel in the white suit stopped before the slave who looked like he was in his late twenties. He took out a fresh cigar and lit it. He placed it into his mouth and blew out a puff of smoke. "So, how did you try to escape _this _time, Edward? asked Mr. Elfonzo. Chorizo's eyes widened when he realized that this hedgehog was Edward, the one Chorizo took over for. Iniko said he got into an "accident," it didnt look like he got hurt or anything though...then why was he there?

One of the gun men came forward. "He tried getting away by digging himself a tunnel with a spoon. Got to about six feet till we found him," said the gun man as he lifted a metal spoon and tossed it to his boss. Mr. Elfonzo caught it with one hand and stared down at it, then down at the hedgehog named Edward.

He narrowed his eyes a bit in disappointment and blew out another puff of smoke, this time into the slave's face. "You are a real stubborn one, nino. You know that, right?" Mr. Elfonzo asked. Edward trembled where he sat. "P-please, s-senor...I-I h-have a f-family...th-they n-need m-me," the hedgehog cried. Mr. Elfonzo didnt answer. Senor Elfonzo glared at Edward with hatred. After a couple seconds of silence, Edward struggled to get up, but Mr. Elfonzo lifted his foot, and kicked him in the face. The hedgehog screamed in pain as he went backwards and fell on his back. A couple men from the crowd snickered, others stayed quiet and stared at Mr. Elfonzo.

Chorizo watched intently in horror, but couldnt seem to look away. He was so absorbed into what was going on below, he didnt hear someone come up the loft and creep up behind him. A hand went over Chorizo's mouth, thus startling him and making him turn around. "The hell you doin' up 'ere, nino? You aint supposed to be up 'ere," said the rat guy Chorizo saw earlier. Chorizo's eyes widened as he stared at the rat guy. He had red eyes, just like his dad, and he had black hair, just like his mom. The creature removed his hand from Chorizo's mouth and stared back at him in confusion.

"What? You got a problem or something? Answer my question!" he snarled in a low but harsh tone. Before Chorizo could open his mouth, a loud scream was heard from below. The two boys both turned at the same time and watched as Mr. Elfonzo kicked the hedgehog in the face again, making him fall backwards and back onto the ground.

Mr. Elfonzo handed the spoon over to one of his men and slowly approached the slave. He loomed over him. The smoke slowly trailed upward from his expensive cigar. "I bought you with my own money...You cant leave this place. I own you till the day you dig your own grave," Mr. Elfonzo snarled. Edward stared up at the squirrel with wide eyes. He shook in fear.

With that, Mr. Elfonzo turned his head over to his gun men and nodded his head. The uniformed men nodded and grabbed Edward's limp arms and hoisted him up to his knees. Edwards face was smeared in his own blood. Edward slowly lifted his head as he stared up at the fat squirrel in the white suit.

Mr. Efonzo took another puff from his cigar before flicking it at Edward. "I guess your family will have to be digging your grave for you. You are no use to me anymore...Throw him in with _El Chupacabra," _Mr. Elfonzo commanded. Everyone gasped, even Edward and the rat boy next to Chorizo. Chorizo felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle as he heard the name.

He slowly turned his head to the rat boy. The older kid stared down at the event below with wide eyes. His mouth was open in shock. His stumpy tail twitched nervously and he began to tremble a bit. He jumped when he heard Chorizo speak.

"Wh-who's El Ch-chupac-cabra?" stuttered Chorizo nervously. The rat boy slowly turned his head to Chorizo, but still had his eyes on Mr. Elfonzo and the hedgehog. "El Chupacabra isnt technically a 'who'...its more of a 'what'...It's Elfonzo's 'pet monster,' his _diablo del infierno," _he explained. Chorizo gulped, and slowly turned his head back to the squirrel and hedgehog.

_"No! No! por favor no me hagan sentir mal con El Chupacabra!" _Edward screamed, but Mr. Elfonzo turned around and began to walk away. The gun men did as they were told and tossed him into the empty pit near them. Edward fell into the pit with a loud _thud. _He groaned and got upright on his knees and began to shake nervously where he sat. Around the edges of the place, were piles of old bones and crushed skulls all over. Across from the hedgehog was darkness. The crowds huddled around the pit and began talking all at once as they stared down at the hedgehog.

Suddenly, a loud growl was heard from the darkness, instantly silencing the crowd. Chorizo and the rat boy stared down at the pit from where they were and held their breaths. Edward the hedgehog stared at the dark cave a couple yards in front of him. He trembled and began to pray to himself in a low whimper. Shifting sounds came out from the darkness, then two glowing red eyes appeared. Edward screamed as he quickly got up, but then fell back on his hands and knees, but began to crawl away and tried clawing his way out.

"Help me! help me! Please help me!" he screamed as he leaped and dug his small claws into the dirt and tried climbing upward out of the pit, but kept sliding back down. The pit was too high and there was no way to get out. The crowds just stared down at the poor hedgehog, not wanting to be pulled in and possibly eaten by the Chupacabra. Suddenly, another loud noise came out, causing the hedgehog to stop jumping and clawing the sides of the pit. He whimpered as he slowly turned his head around and still saw the glowing red eyes staring back at him.

The low growl got louder and louder as the creature shifted and snarled in the pitch black darkness. The men above took a step back from the railing that surrounded the pit, but strained to see what the creature in the darkness looked like. The sounds of chains clinking against eachother was heard. Chorizo and the rat boy's eyes widened as they stared down at the half light, half dark pit.

Suddenly, at lightning speed, something wrapped around the hedgehog and was pulled into the darkness. "Noo!" screamed Edward as he fell on his back and was pulled in. He spun around and began to claw the ground, trying to keep from going toward the Chupacabra, but it was no use, the creature was too powerful.

Everyone gasped in horror. Edwards screams were still heard, but then a loud _chomp _sound was heard, followed by a couple spine twisting snaps, and the screams were cut. Chorizo felt his heart skip a eat and placed his hand over his throat nervously. The sounds of snapping and crunching 2were heard. Blood was seen slowly trailing out from the darkness and into the light. The huge crowd gasped and took a couple steps back from the pit. Some took their hats off in respect and looked away.

"Shows over, hombres. Come back next week to see the fights," Mr. Elfonzo said when he suddenly appeared. The crowds stared at Mr. Elfonzo, then at the pit where Edward was thrown in before slowly filing out of the old barn. Mr. Elfonzo instructed his gun men to keep the crowd moving and to go outside and leave from the ranch.

When everyone was gone, Mr. Elfonzo sighed and turned his head over to the pit. he rested his arms onto the cold, metal railing and stared down at the pit below. The blood continued to trail down, and a couple bones were seen being spat out into the middle of the area. Mr. Elfonzo sighed again as he stared down without fear.

"Such a waste of money..." he muttered as he pulled out an object from his inner coat pocket. He pulled out a pocket book and crossed off something from it before putting it back into his coat and stared down at the pit again. He smirked. "But...all worth it to you...my lovely beast," he said in amusement as the sounds of bones being crushed by powerful jaws echoed throughout the barn.

Chorizo's ears went back in fear as he turned away and felt like throwing up. How did he end up here? Of all the horrible places to be! A man who owned a monster who could eat a hedgehog in five seconds, chained down in the dark pit below in a barn in the dark corners of a ranch in the middle of nowhere.

"I have to get out of here!" he said in a whisper. The rat boy turned to him and frowned. "There's no way to escape," he whispered. "Elfonzo's men will catch you, and either shoot you, or give you to...the monster down there," The rat boy said as he slowly turned his head to the pit. He shuddered and looked away. His stumpy tail twitched nervously as he began to disappear into his thoughts.

Chorizo stared up at the rat boy. "...El Chupacabra...is it really real? is it really th-that...thing down there?" he asked. The rat boy trembled and took a couple of deep breaths. "It's as real as you and me...it eats...it breathes...it lives...and while it lives...you are a dead man..." he answered. Chorizo could feel his heart pounding fast.

Suddenly, a strange creaking sound was heard. The rat boy and Chorizo flicked their heads up and exchanged confused glances. Suddenly, the loft gave in and broke. The two boys screamed as they fell and crashed down to the ground. Thankfully there were bundles of hay below, cushioning their landing.

Chorizo spat out some bits of straw from his mouth and shoved the broken wooden wood from him. He looked up just in time to see multiple ends of rifles pointed right at his face. He froze and slowly raised his arms up. Mr. Elfonzo came up and glared down at the young shrew. "Ah, so that's where you've been hidin', Mr. Carnicero, I was afraid you fell in with El Chupacabra... again," teased the huge squirrel. Chorizo gave Mr. Elfonzo a confused look when he all the sudden felt a couple splintered boards move and the rat guy appear next to him.

"I wasnt hiding, and don't talk about your monster around me!" the rat boy snapped at the squirrel. Mr. Elfonzo's ears flicked in annoyance, but he seemed to be used to the rodent's snappy comebacks. His eyes finally flickered down to Chorizo. His eyes seemed to widen a bit in surprise, but then relaxed and looked back to the rat boy.

"I see you finally met your hermano, si?" he asked as he pointed to Chorizo. The rat boy gave the squirrel a confused look. "Hermano? What are you talking about? I dont have a..." his voice faltered as he turned his red eyes down to Chorizo. Chorizo stared back. "E-Edwardo?" he asked. The rat boy's eyes widened as if he got slapped in the face.

"S-si...a-are you...er...d-did you h-have a madre named...Rosa Carnicero?" he asked. Chorizo nodded. "...A-and a padre...named Beto?" Edwardo asked. Chorizo nodded. Edwardo stared at his thirteen year old brother. "Chorizo..." he finally said. Chorizo couldnt keep the tears back. He finally threw his arms around his older brother and hugged him tightly. Edwardo jolted at the sudden action and continued to stare at the young shrew.

Mr. Elfonzo silently told his men to lower their weapons as he lit another cigar. "So touching..." he muttered without any feelings toward his words as he smoked. He blew a cloud of smoke into the air.

Chorizo finally moved away from his brother and stared up at him. He couldnt believe it. He finally found his long lost brother! Edwardo was still in complete shock. "H-how...?" he asked. Chorizo opened his mouth to answer, but Mr. Elfonzo interrupted. "He'll tell you tomorrow mornin' right now, you two need to get to work and feed the fighters their dinner," he commanded as he kicked a couple empty buckets over beside him. Edwardo and Chorizo got out from the pile of hay and stared at their boss.

"Chorizo cant work here-" "I say who can work 'ere or not, Carnicero! Dont start tellin' me whats right and what's wrong!" shouted Mr. Elfonzo. Edwardo looked down at his feet angrily but didnt answer. Chorizo stared at his older brother before looking up at Mr. Efonzo. Mr. Elfonzo placed his cigar into his mouth before saying the last thing Chorizo ever wanted to hear: "Welcome to yer new home, nino: El Granero. You'll be workin' here till the day you dig your own grave..."


	15. Chapter 15

...

The next morning, Chorizo was woken up by his older brother, Edwardo. "Come on, its time to get up," he said as he helped Chorizo up and began to walk him from out of the place where they slept. They slept in a stable with blankets, pillows and a couple tied up roadrunners. They walked out and went down the long area of stalls where the other slaves slept. Everyone was already out and working.

Chorizo yawned and looked out the gapping holes in the wooden walls of the old barn. It was pitch black outside. The slaves in the barn woke up a couple hours earlier then the slaves in the little huts across the field.

Edwardo grabbed six buckets and handed three to Chorizo. "So, tell me the whole story. I want to know how you got all the way out 'ere," said Edwardo as he began walking. Chorizo stumbled sleepily after him and told him all that he could remember. Edwardo narrowed his eyes when Chorizo began talking about Butch. "Yeah, that Butch is a real shit-eatin' bastard. Surprised he hasnt been caught yet by the rangers," he snarled angrily.

They walked outside where a huge trough of ground up meat sat. Fist sized flies darted around the trough that looked like it hasnt been cleaned in years. The moon wasnt around, so it was really dark, but Chorizo could still see the glint of the rifles from the gun men from across the field.

Chorizo stopped telling his story and held his nose with one hand and groaned in disgust. "Ugh! What is that?" he asked, feeling like he was going to vomit. Edwardo grabbed a bandana hanging from an old wooden fence and tied it around his mouth and nose. Then he placed two of his buckets down and scooped the nasty mixed meat into the one bucket in his hands.

"Breakfast...fer the fighters...today is meat day...ug...reminds me of papa and his damn butcher shop," he muttered angrily as he placed the filled bucket down and began filling the other two. "How is papa an' mama anyway?" asked Edwardo. Chorizo turned away from the smell. "Papa an' mama are still running the butcher shop...an' has Nico and Isabella-" "Who's Nico y Isabella?" Edwardo asked.

Chorizo turned to his brother for a split second. "My-er-our younger brother and sister," Chorizo explained. Edwardo nodded, then snorted a bit and continued working. "More offspring to force to work with that shit-smellin' meat...gah...I hated working with meat, also how papa made me chop the meat up all day an into most of the night..." he sighed, then turned to Chorizo.

"I wish I was there for you, as an older brother...but I wasnt thinking...I was upset at mama an' papa..." Edwardo explained. "I sometimes wish I never ran away..." he added and stared down at what remained of his tail. Chorizo stared at his brother. Edwardo sighed again and shook his head before turning to Chorizo. "Is that why you ran away too? Because of mama and papa?" he asked. Chorizo nodded. "Si...but I mostly ran away because I wanted to find you...hopefully living a better life then with mama an' papa..." he admitted. Edwardo smiled a small smile, but then it disappeared and he looked down at his feet.

"...I'm sorry you ended up 'ere with me...this is the last place you ever want to be in," Edwardo said. The two didnt say anything, but the silence was interrupted when a couple gun men came by. The two quickly pretended to look like they were working. One of the gun men stopped and stared down at the half filled trough.

"Whas' this?" one of them asked while the other gun man placed his hand over his mouth and quickly moved away to throw up in the bushes. Edwardo lifted the bucket filled with meat up to the gun man. "Mystery meat. Want some?" he asked with a grin on his face. The gun man shoved the bucket away with disgust. "Dont put that in my face, Carnicero! Unless you want me to do that to you" he snapped and fingered his rifle. Edwado moved the bucket away.

The gun man continued. "Seems a bit low in the trough this week," he pointed out. Edwardo nodded. "Yeah, we're almost down on our roadrunners, next will possibly be Ol' Betsie an' her lil one," Edwardo said. The gun man sighed. "I'll talk to Rico an' Senor Elfonzoabout that," he said. Edwardo nodded, then saluted a silent goodbye. The gun man ignored him and got his sick friend out of the bushes, then left.

Edwardo turned to his quiet brother.

We're running out of money...so we're using the animals from the little stable near the slave village over there to feed these hideous men," Edwardo explained. Chorizo felt a cold chill run through him. "Wh-what ab-bout slaves? D-do you grind them up too?" he asked. Edwardo snickered.

"No. Elfonzo wouldnt let that happen; he hates having to buy another slave because of an "accident"...Though, one time, one of the slaves here purposely fell into the grinding machine because he couldnt take it anymore and was served to the fighters...Thats why the grinding machine is locked up behind the barn and only Rico, one of the gun men, is allowed to turn it on." Hearing this made Chorizo very ill. After Edwardo was done filling his buckets, Chorizo did the same and they carried the buckets back inside and walked down the stables to the other side of the barn.

Edwardo and Chorizo stopped at an area that was a hole, which was barred up. Edwardo took out a key and unlocked the barred door and they both went down the ladder. Chorizo stayed quiet as they went down into the darkness.

They went down into a huge sewer like tunnel system with barred off sections where the 'fighters' stayed. Edwardo lit a match and lit the candle inside a lanturn. "Don't be afraid. These guys are as normal as you an' me...well...some of them," he added in a low voice as they walked down one tunnel. Chorizo stayed really close next to his tall, older brother. He felt something nudge his knee and looked down. He moved back when he realized that Edwardo's stumpy tail had touched him. He stared down at it.

"That shitty monster from hell did that," said Edwardo, startling Chorizo. Chorizo looked away from his brother's tail. "I was fourteen when it happened...accidently fell in..." continued Edwardo. He stopped and turned to Chorizo. "Number one rule 'ere: Watch yer tail at all times...it'll git you in a shitload of trouble," he warned Chorizo. Chorizo stiffened as he stared up at Edwardo. The lantern created dark circles under his eyes.

With that, Edwardo turned around and continued walking. Chorizo reached for his tail behind him and held it aainst his chest and continued after Edwardo. Edwardo stopped and pointed to the long tunnel that stretched on through the darkness.

"Meet my amigos: The fighters. Don't get too close, Chorizo," warned Edwardo as they entered. They stopped at one cell with bars. Edwardo held up the lantern. Inside was a beefy-looking lion with tattered clothes and patches of missing fur all over his body. Dried up blood was seen at the corners of his mouth and had jagged scars running down his face. He bared his teeth when Edwardo and Chorizo appeared.

"Morning, Kitty," said Edwardo with a smirk on his face as he dumped one of the nasty meat into a bowl through the bars. The lion snarled. "That's not my name!" he snapped bitterly. Edwardo ignored the lion and finished dumping the meat and gave the lion a salute. "From the best chefs in town. Enjoy the meat, Kitty," he said. The lion snarled again. "Shut up!" he shouted. Edwardo quickly moved out of the way before the lion came charging toward the bars and reached out as far as he could to the older shrew.

Edwardo smirked as the lion's huge hands clawed the air just inches from his face. "I'm gonna kill you!" the lion shouted. Edwardo calmly picked up his buckets and walked on. "Yeah, good luck with that!" he laughed and moved on to the next cell. Chorizo moved around the angry messed up lion as far as possible before catching up with Edwardo.

"That's, Kitiko. He's a real ass at times, so I git back at him and call him Kitty. He _hates_ it," Edwardo laughed. Chorizo didnt laugh. He was actually shocked to see his brother, on top of that, his brother nearly getting his head ripped off by a lion man! Even though he lost his tail by El Chupacabra, he still didnt seem to learn his lesson. The next fighter was an alligator guy. He was huge and the contained place he was in was halfway filled with water, but still wasnt big enough for it. He wore tattered pants and had bandages around his arms and feet.

The creature snarled and glared down at Edwardo with yellow eyes. Edwardo silently waved to the creature and poured the meat into the bowl through the bars. "Mornin' Killer. It's meat day, your favorite," he said smiling. The alligator didnt say anything, but his eyes flickered down to the meat in the bowl. Edwardo and Chorizo continued on.

"Killer is from a different country, so he doesnt speak. Most of these fighters are from different parts of the world and sold at auctions, but its getting harder and harder to find suitable slaves to become mindless killing machines," Edwardo explained. "Also how they kill eachother off faster then Elfonzo can write out a check," he added.

The two continued feeding the other fighters. Most of them were missing limbs, ears or eyes and were in poor conditions. They were covered in dry or fresh blood and their open wounds were infested with bacteria. Flies darted in and out of them and laying eggs in their open wounds, causing Chorizo to look away. Edwardo talked on about how he got the job of feeding the fighters. It was mostly because he pissed off Mr. Elfonzo too many times, but Edwardo said it was mostly because the last slave got killed by one of the fighters.

There were five fighters in all (The sixth one was officially dead in his cell from the cause of the bugs eating away at his body covered in opened wounds). The last one was in the biggest cell in the tunnel system. El Chupacabra. "H-have you ever seen...?" Chorizo's voice faltered when they got closer to the end. Edwardo shook his head. "No...but I did see something years ago when I accidently fell in the pit..." he said.

They began to walk slower. "Wh-what did you see?" asked Chorizo nervously. Edwardo gripped the two full buckets in his hand, in the other he gripped the cold metal handle of the lantern as it lit the way for them. "Well...I dont want to sound crazy...but I know what I saw...Do you know the stories of the Chupacabra, Chorizo?" asked Edwardo. Chorizo nodded. He had heard some stories of the Goat-Sucker, mostly how it would come to young children if they werent asleep and suck their blood.

Edwardo looked ahead. "Well...I remembered...when the light touched El Chupacabra...it had scales...and its eyes, were huge...like black pools...and I could see myself in one of the eyes..." Edwardo shuddered and lifted his shoulders up to his ears. He trembled nevously as he thought of the dark memory. Chorizo asked if he was ok. Edwardo didnt say anything, but continued on.

The huge, gapping round opening was barred off and chained with multiple heavy locks. It was pitch black inside. The only way they knew something was alive in the cell, was the heavy sounds of breathing. Chorizo's legs stopped in their tracks and didnt want to move any closer. He began to tremble as heheld the empty buckets in his hands. Edwardo cautiously came up to the cell. He blew out the light, making the whole place go into complete darkness. Chorizo's eyes adjusted to the dark and listened to the sickening sounds of meat being plopped into the bowl through the bars.

Chorizo's heart skipped a beat when he heard something shift. El Chupacabra? He jumped when he felt something touch his head. A match was struck and Edwardo's face appeared in the orange light. "Its ok...It's me," whispered Edwardo as he lit the lantern back again. With that, they left. "Sorry about that...The Chupacabra doesnt like light," he explained. Chorizo didnt say anything as they made their way back out of the dark tunnel.

Chorizo was so relieved to get out of the dark place. He hated being down there, and seeing all those scary fighters in the darkness. It was like Elfonzo had a collection of living nightmares only children could conjure at night.

He felt so happy to see the morning light coming up over the mountains. Edwardo yawned tiredly and stretched his arms. "Our job aint over yet, we need to clean up the barn with the other slaves. Then at noon, we can take our siesta," Edwardo told Chorizo. With that, the two each grabbed a broom and began to sweep the ground.

Chorizo still couldnt stop thinking of the horrible caged up creatures under his feet. What if something happened to where they were able to escape? What if he accidently got in trouble and had to fight them? Chorizo felt tears come to his eyes but he blinked them away and tried concentrating on his sweeping.

...

When noon came around, Chorizo, Edwardo, and the rest of the slaves plopped down onto the hay bales and either fell asleep or ate their lunch. Chorizo sighed and closed his eyes as he laid down. Edwardo sat next to him and rubbed the back of his neck. Suddenly, one of the barn doors opened and Romero came in.

Chorizo opened his eyes and sat upright. Romero spotted him and smirked as he approached them. "Well, well, well...looks like curiosity killed the little rat..." Romero said and stopped in front of the two. Chorizo looked away from Romero. Edwardo narrowed his eyes a bit at Romero.

"What are you doin' out 'ere, Romero? I thought today was an unlucky day. Isn't it the thirteenth of Friday?" he asked. Romero bared his rotten teeth at Edwardo. "Todays the eleventh on Monday you little smartass!" Romero snapped.

Edwardo ignored the short rabbit. Romero turned back to Chorizo. "So...you now know what goes on in this granero, and now yer stuck 'ere, workin' wit yer smartass, brother and with the devil from hell itself," Romero snickered. Chrorizo began to narrow his eyes at Romero. Romero didnt seem to notice. "You deserved it though. Karma always comes around to those who do stupid, evil things," Romero added.

Furious, Chorizo got up and shoved Romero. "Leave me alone, Romero!" shouted Chorizo. Romero staggered but regained his balance, but then lost it when Chorizo punched Romero in the face. Romero fell to the ground. Edwardo quickly got up and grabbed Chorizo's arms before he attacked the one eyes rabbit again. Romero rubbed his bleeding face angrily as he slowly sat upright from the ground.

"Why you little-" but stopped when he noticed Chorizo. He gasped in horror and moved away. Chorizo's eyes were deep red as they always were when he was angry. Romero had never seen Chorizo's eyes change color before. He stared in shock and pointed at his eyes. "_Ojo rojo diablo!" _Romero shouted, startling the other slaves around them.

_"_Y-you are a demon! A demon, just like your brother! You and yer family are all evil!" Romero shouted as he continued to back away from the Carnicero brothers. Chorizo struggled in Edward's grasp. He wanted Romero to take back all the things he just said. Romero fell but got back up. Then he left and continued to say the name over and over it made Chorizo's stomach turn.

"_Ojo Rojo Diablo! Ojo Rojo Diablo! Ojo Rojo Diablo!"_

Chorizo felt Edwardo's hands loosen from Chorizo. Chorizo angrily shouldered them away. Edwardo placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, Chorizo. Romero is just superstitious. He's been hanging out at those gypsy camps fer too long," he said, but it didnt make Chorizo feel any better. Chorizo shook his head and sat back down in the hay. Edwardo sat down next to him.

"I made Romero believe that there were such things as fairies when I first arrived 'ere," said Edwardo. Chorizo turned his head to Edwardo, somewhat interested. Edwardo smirked and began telling his younger brother the story. Chorizo's mouth gradually formed into a smile and laughed at a couple of the parts. Edwardo smiled and told him another story when he tricked Romero into thinking he was being haunted by ghosts.

The more stories Edwardo told, the more Chorizo laughed, making him feel a lot better. Chorizo stared up at his older brother with happiness. He was so happy to have found his older brother, even if it were in the most worst situation, as long as Edwardo was there, he felt happy and safe.


End file.
